


Full Circle

by QueenSappho



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Sorta, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Crossover, Dirty Talk, Drug Use, F/F, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jealous Natasha Romanov, Lesbian Sex, Non-Canon Relationship, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Nicole Haught, Protective Waverly Earp, Shower Sex, everyone's protective, this is filth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:29:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28861827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenSappho/pseuds/QueenSappho
Summary: The ScarletWidow/Wayhaught crossover fic no one asked for which ignores all logical timelines and reason in general.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Natasha Romanov, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 26
Kudos: 99





	1. Introduction/Author Notes

This has been in development for over a year and a half now. I'm not 100% finished but I figured if I got some attention it would motivate me to put the remainder of the story on paper. All the rules are out the window and the points don't matter on this one. Please let me know if you like it as I am easily motivated by praise and desperately seeking positive reinforcement.

I want to dedicate this work to my fiancé who was forced to proofread every chapter and my friend Abby who has put up with me ranting about it for the last 18 months and ultimately ended up titling the work for me. I love you both 3000!

Also, this be my [tumblr](http://megaqueenmaeve.tumblr.com/). 


	2. Chapter 2

_Purgatory – Circa 2046 – Also Circa Season 3 of Wynonna Earp_

Waverly pleaded and cursed at the jeep, each failed start making her blood run colder. Gunshots rang through the air as Nicole and Doc began firing at the looming horde just a few hundred feet away. Wynonna appeared at the driver side door and grabbed her arm. “Come on babygirl.”

Her big sister wretched her from the vehicle and they stumbled into a run towards the road. “Nicole!” Waverly called over her shoulder, and turned her head to see Doc and her girlfriend running after them, firing over their shoulders. There was no way they would outrun the pack of revenants.

The surface beneath her feet changed suddenly and she whipped her head around to see that had reached the road. A car was heading directly towards them, barreling forward at full speed. Could they not see the wave of revenants? Waverly desperately began waving her free hand, if they could hitch a ride they might stand a chance.

Suddenly, the car’s brakes gave out a screech and before it stopped its passenger door burst open and a figure engulfed in pinkish red flames emerged. Wynonna and Waverly skid to a halt and seconds later she felt Nicole stop behind her, breathing hard. The four watched in awe as a woman in a dark red cloak with burning red eyes landed lightly on the snow. She lifted her hands and a large shield of thin red swirling flames erupted and spread out towards them.

Waverly was pushed down as both Nicole and Wynonna covered her body with theirs but the impact never came. Instead she heard the angry cries of the massive horde behind them turn into screams of terror. She looked back and saw revenant bodies being carried into the air by red waves and dropped again. Within moments the dropped bodies were scrambling in the other direction.

“Yeah you better run!” Wynonna called out next to her, Waverly rolled her eyes and then turned her attention back to their savior. The woman lowered her arms and as she did, the flames disappeared along with the red glow in her eyes. She had a young face, big doe eyes, a mess of long rust colored hair, and seemingly felt the need to wear every horrendous piece of gothic jewelry she owned all at once. She turned to face the group with an expression of….fear? concern? Waverly couldn’t tell.

“Thank you.” She called, but the sorceress didn’t move an inch.

Waverly began walking slowly towards her, flanked tightly by the rest of the group, Wynonna taking the lead. As they got closer a man emerged from the driver’s side. He had a distinguished look about him with salt and pepper hair and was dressed much more casually than his companion. 

“Is everyone alright?” He asked calmly.

“Eh…no big deal, just another Saturday,” Wynonna chuckled.

“It’s Wednesday.” The man responded coolly. Meanwhile the woman remained silent and still, her gazed locked on Nicole. The red-head instinctively wrapped her arms around Waverly.

“Is this the ancestral home of Wyatt Earp?” The man gestured towards the homestead behind them.

“That it is.” Doc responded. “And who might you be?”

“My name is Dr. Stephen Strange, and this is Wanda Maximoff. We’re looking for a young lady by the name of Nicole Haught.” Wanda’s eyes, which had burned only seconds ago began to shine with fresh tears. Everyone’s eyes turned towards Nicole who was clearly confused. 

“I…I’m Nicole…or Sheriff Haught, these days.” She shifted her gaze nervously between Wanda and Dr. Strange.

Wanda stepped towards Nicole and Waverly but stopped a few feet away when Nicole protectively pushed her girlfriend behind her and laid a hand on her just-holstered weapon.

“I’m sorry” she whispered, “I know you don’t….you would not remember me I just, oh you have her hair and nose and….I don’t mean to scare you, because this…this is a lot,” she seemed to shatter internally and the doctor was there, hands on her arms.

“Wanda, breathe. Tell her who you are.”

Wanda looked at him as if he had just suggested she offer them a kidney. She swallow hard and attempted to take a step back, stopped by the man stiffly holding her in place. Resigned to her fate, the witch took a few deep breathes and then, “Nicole, Sherriff Haught…I'm your mother.”

\-------------------------------------------

Waverly wasn’t intentionally giving Wanda Maximoff the evil eye. In fact, to the contrary, she was trying desperately hard not to do so. Chances were this woman was wrong, so it shouldn’t matter anyways. But if she was right, if she was actually Nicole’s mother, then she had abandoned her and that wasn’t something Waverly was ready to forgive anyone for, not even a revenant-killing bad-ass mega-sorceress. Thankfully, said bad-ass didn’t seem to notice Waverly nor anyone else currently gathered in the living room of the homestead. Her full attention was on the faded area rug.

The silence was deafening but short lived as Wynonna’s loud voice cut through the air like a wrecking ball, “Welp, as much as I’d love to hear this one, I’m afraid we have a talisman to find so, babygirl,” she turned to Waverly, “Doc and I will just leave you and baby-haught with baby-mama and baby-daddy here and we’ll be on our way.”

“Actually I think that’s a great idea.” Stephen Strange spoke up and then turned his gaze to Waverly as well, “Miss Earp will you accompany me outside so we can give these two some privacy?” 

Waverly opened her mouth to object but was interrupted by the squeak of a scarlet bad-ass who suddenly seemed very panicked. “I don’t think that’s-“

“It’s ok Wanda,” the doctor interrupted. He placed a hand on her shoulder while she gave him a pleading look, “just talk to her.” And with that, he turned to leave the room.

Waverly caught Nicole’s eye, trying to let her know that she would stay if that’s what the red-head wanted, but she sensed no fear in her girlfriend’s features, just massive confusion. So the tiny brunette stood and cleared her throat. “I’ll uh…I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

“Yeah, alright.” Nicole answered and with one last look at Wanda, Waverly followed Dr. Strange out onto the porch where he was staring off at Doc and Wynonna as they started up Waverly’s traitorous jeep and took off towards town, probably off to headquarters so they could work on figuring out where the talisman had run off to.

“Is your sister mentally sound?” The man asked, eyes not leaving the road.

“Is your friend?” Waverly shot back before she could stop herself.

“More or less, but rest assured, she would never allow herself to harm Miss Haught.”

“So, are you claiming to be Nicole’s father?”

“No, in fact I never had the pleasure of meeting her when she was a baby. I was aware of her birth as it is my duty to keep track of powerful beings such as Ms. Maximoff. Her mothers moved her to Purgatory almost immediately after she was born though and my magic could not pierce the barrier that protects the Ghost River Triangle. Besides, I had long since deemed Wanda a non-threat as she seemed determined to retire and raise a family.”

Waverly filed the ‘mothers’ comment away for later, her anger pushing down the delight of getting to know another lesbian couple.

“Then why leave? If her moms were so concerned with Nicole’s well-being, why abandon her with people who didn’t give two shits about her happiness?” Waverly knew her rage was getting the better of her but her desire to shield Nicole was stronger than her manners.

Dr. Strange stayed calm and gave her a long look before finally responding.

“I understand your hesitation. You wish to protect your friend and I would never ask you to relinquish that role. However, there is no one but me left to protect Wanda, so I feel it is my duty to ensure you understand that Nicole’s parents loved her dearly, more than anything in the world. Fate is what pulled them away from her. I know this is difficult, but I just ask that you give her a chance and don’t poison the potential for this woman to finally find the peace and love she has sought her whole life.”

Dr. Strange took a deep breath and averted his gaze from Waverly, who was suddenly, immensely ashamed. She had been too quick to judge. Too quick to close ranks and assume that her girlfriend was so pure and kind that it would be impossible for anyone with decent intentions to hurt her.

She tentatively reached out her hand to touch his shoulder. “I’m sorry” she whispered, and hoped that the sadness in her eyes conveyed everything she wanted to say. He nodded and stepped off the porch decisively.

“If it’s alright with you I’ll go and secure lodging for Ms. Maximoff and myself for the night. I shouldn’t be long but call me if you need me, I can be here in an instant.” He handed her a small black card with faint golden numbers on it.

Waverly absorbed the meaning behind his words. _Call him and not the fire department if pinkish red flames start exploding from inside the house._ She opened her mouth to offer him directions into town. However, before she could get the words out, the doctor conjured a large golden circle out of nowhere and stepped through. And then she was alone, with her mouth hanging open, wondering what the hell they were getting into.

\------------------------------------------- 

The ticking of the clock was deafening inside the tiny living room. Nicole could have sworn the little antique had never made any noise before this moment. Stupid house, stupid clock.

Wanda Maximoff sat across from her, looking more like some goth chick that had had a little too much fun during a costume party at the gay bar than a skilled sorceress. She was perched on the edge of an old cushioned chair in the corner of the room, sitting as if she was worried the chair would break if she relaxed into it at all. Her legs and arms were both crossed and her eyes darted around the room, never looking higher than the doorknob and sure as hell not at Nicole. It became clear the woman had no intention of speaking first so Nicole took it upon herself to interrupt the ungodly loud ticking.

“I’m not sure where you got your information but I’m afraid you have the wrong person, or at least the wrong Nicole Haught.” She offered.

The witch looked at her as if just realizing Nicole was there. Her response was a small shake of her head, then when Nicole didn’t comment, she finally spoke.

“No, I am afraid not. But I can understand why you would want that to be true.”

Nicole sighed, she wasn’t sure who this woman was, but even people with special abilities were prone to insanity. Wynonna was a prime example. The lady before her was clearly disturbed and they would need to help her find who she was looking for if they wanted to get rid of her, if that person even existed.

Nicole leaned forward, switching into detective-mode, “Ms. Maximoff, you are what…23? 22?”

Wanda’s eyebrows furrowed, as if no one had ever asked her that before. “Ummm, well I was 24.” 

_Yep, definitely a nut-job._

“You were 24?”

“Last I remember…..what year is it?”

“It’s 2046 Ms. Maximoff.”

“Well then…” she paused, clearly doing the math, “I guess I’m 47 then.”

Nicole smiled softly, knowing better than to aggressively attack the poor woman’s logic. She briefly wondered if she should have been so quick to send Waverly away with the witch’s associate, who clearly believed her delusions.

“You must have some skincare routine,” the officer joked lightly, “I wouldn’t peg you for a day over 23.”

“Thank you.” Wanda offered without smiling, Nicole’s implication going right over her head. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“Ms. Maximoff–”

“-Wanda.”

“Wanda, I want to help you, I really do. But I know who my parents are, I know who I am and the idea that we are related in that way seems highly unlikely.” Instead of arguing, Wanda just nodded, looking away again. Nicole took that as assent.

The woman was being reasonably cooperative. She had saved their lives and didn’t seem like much of a threat sitting there all small and sad. Would it really be so bad to help her out?

She stood up and slowly made her way over to the strange woman, kneeling at the side of the chair and carefully laying her hand on top of Wanda’s tight tangle of fingers and rings. She caught the witch’s gaze and tried to sound as reassuring as possible when she said, “Wanda, I will do everything in my power to help you find what you are looking for, ok?”

Instead of relief or indifference, a look of shock came over Wanda and her mouth dropped open, as if Nicole had just sprouted a horn or proposed or something equally out of left field.

“What’s wrong?” Nicole inquired, instinctively pulling her hand away.

Wanda closed her eyes and turned away. “It’s nothing, you just…you remind me of someone. That is all.”

Not truly satisfied with the answer but also not wanting to draw out the awkward exchange, Nicole continued, still kneeling but keeping her hands to herself. “I want to get more information so I can help you, we have plenty of records at the station, but it’s a little late to start that process tonight. I’d be happy to talk to you in the morning if you would like. I’m not sure if you and your friend have accommodations planned but there’s only one hotel in town and no airbnbs I would readily recommend. You look like you could use some rest. I’ll go get your friend,” _and rescue my girlfriend,_ “then we can point you in the right direction.”

Nicole turned to leave, when the witch murmured hesitantly, “Sheriff Haught?”

She stopped and turned around to see Wanda Maximoff giving her the same look a small child gives their parent when they want the closet checked for monsters before the lights get turned out.

“Could I maybe…hug you, just once?”

Nicole hesitated. She didn’t know much about the woman except that she could shoot pretty swirly lasers from her hands and was searching for a lost daughter. A hug would put Nicole in a pretty vulnerable position, but then again, it’s not like Ms. Maximoff would need to get her arms around the officer if she wanted to hurt her. It went completely against her training, but how could she deny this sad person, who has clearly seen some shit, such a small comfort?

“If you promise not to turn me into a pumpkin or something.” She joked but once again it failed to translate.

“Why would I turn you into a pumpkin?”

“It’s just a…never mind, yes, you can hug me.”

Wanda nodded and stood, approaching Nicole cautiously as if the officer wasn’t the only one worried about being blasted across the room. Nicole braced herself for an awkward, tense embrace but felt herself relax subconsciously when the witch slid her arms around the taller woman’s thin frame. Something about the way she smelled, faintly like sage and the prelude to a storm melted Nicole’s tension away. A warmth spread through her and she wondered if this was some sort of spell, if she should try to fight the way the embrace tugged at her heart and gave her a sense of belonging she had only previously felt with Waverly.

She felt and heard the smaller woman breathe in deeply and then whisper, softer than a prayer, “Oh Nikki.”

Nicole’s eyes snapped open, no one had called her that since she was kid. It was her mother and father’s pet name for her. A name she had come to resent as much as her parents when it became clear how little she meant to them.

A tiny droplet hitting the base of her neck brought Nicole back into the moment. The nickname forgotten and her heart suddenly full of compassion, she embraced the other woman and patiently held her while she sobbed for her lost child. A child Nicole was suddenly determined to help her find.


	3. Chapter 3

_The Avengers Compound – Circa 2019 – Post Age of Ultron I Guess – Timelines Are Dumb_

Natasha had a thing for wearing nice jeans. These days she wore her suit when they had a mission. Sometimes she wore slacks or a skirt or a dress. When she was training or sleeping she preferred shorts. Pre-Shield she didn’t wear nice jeans. Only now, when she had a steady job, a _good_ job, and days off like today could she truly wear something just for herself. And ‘herself’ really liked wearing nice, skinny jeans.

As she slipped into a pair of comfortable heels, Natasha scanned the walk-in closet for her red jacket and saw it hanging neatly at the end of the rack. The sight brought the string of events that had led to its return back to the forefront of her mind.

After Ultron, Tony had told the Sokovian girl to take any empty room she wanted in the tower, they would be moving soon. Hill had wasted no time in ~~interrogating~~ debriefing the young woman. Natasha remembers watching from the other side of a two-way mirror with Steve as Wanda answered question after question, her eyes red-rimmed and traces of her mascara still lingering.

The spy had found it difficult to maintain her malice while watching Wanda try to hold herself together and cooperate. Despite every carefully built barrier she had resurrected over the years, empathy was getting the better of her. She pretended not to notice Steve’s shocked expression when she demanded Maria give Wanda a break after the first hour.

That night the witch knocked on her door. She stood there in black SHIELD pajamas, hair still wet from the shower, and her bare feet as she clutched Natasha’s jacket with both hands. The obsidian clothing swallowed her. Nat thought back to the girl in the church, red power barely contained beneath her fingertips, ready to take on the world to protect the lives of her fellow countrymen. She had an overwhelming, frankly frustrating urge to help bring that woman back, to try and make up for what the world had done to her.

“I cleaned it off the best I could, but it still smells like gunpowder.”

“It smelled like that long before you wore it, little witch.” Something flashed in the brunette’s eyes at the nickname, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. Delicate, trembling hands held the jacket out towards Natasha but the ex-assassin just shook her head.

“That’s ok, I never cared for it that much anyways...you keep it.” Nat knew it was a silly notion, but somehow she hoped that a little color in the witch’s wardrobe would help in some small way.

“I don’t deserve your charity, Ms. Romanov.” Those eyes were making Natasha’s chest hurt, she needed to wrap this up. There were so many things she probably should have said in that moment, things a decent person would say. Things like _you thought you were doing the right thing,_ or _I used to feel that way too_. But the feelings the Maximoff girl was evoking within her, they were unstable, dangerous, just like the woman herself. So instead of being a kind person, Nat shut the conversation down with a quick, “We never get what we deserve in this world. Goodnight Wanda.”

She didn’t miss the hurt look in the younger woman’s eyes as she shut the door, and it haunted her for the rest of the night.

Fast forward three weeks. Three weeks since her mind had been pulled apart by Wanda the Teenage Witch. Three weeks since Bruce had abandoned her, rejected her. Three weeks since she and Steve had been given a new team to train and mold.

Natasha had tried to avoid Wanda, really she had. Tony had given her and Steve the equivalent of mini-apartments in the compound. This worked out well as it meant Nat didn’t have to chance running into her at meal times. But there was still training.

Naturally, Steve had asked Nat to train her because that’s just the way the universe works. So Natasha spent several hours a day watching the girl move around in skimpy athletic wear or God-forbid that scandalous outfit Tony had designed for her. Someone must have issued her a Stark-card because slowly the SHIELD clothing was phased out for short dresses and booty-shorts and really it shouldn’t have surprised her when she opened her door one day to find her red jacket neatly folded on the carpet because apparently Wanda Maximoff preferred to spend most of her time half-naked anyways.

They hadn’t spoken outside of training since that night at the tower. While Natasha told herself every day that it was for the best, every night in her mind she replayed Wanda’s laugh, the way she bit her bottom lip when she was concentrating, or how she would smirk with an adorable little boost of confidence when she finally got something right.

Sliding her arms through the sleeves and hastily grabbing her purse and sunglasses, Natasha rushed out the door, still preoccupied with thoughts of Wanda. The girl really wasn’t all that bad, just young and a little glitchy for Natasha’s liking. But outside of her prospects as an agent, Wanda was pretty sweet, maybe a tad naïve. And gorgeous. Even before Tony had put her in that ridiculous suit, the witch’s curves and big green eyes had been hard to ignore.

The girl had been doing an admirable job of pushing forward in her training even while mourning the death of her twin brother. Natasha wondered what Wanda did with her days off. Probably spent them with Vision, who seemed particularly inclined towards her. 

For some reason, that didn’t sit well with the Black Widow. Every time she would come across the two interacting, Nat would feel an odd sourness in her stomach. Especially when the android would make her laugh. Natasha normally adored the girl’s laugh, wishing she could do something that cute and pleasant so effortlessly, but it irked her when it was directed towards Vision. She wasn’t sure why, she had no reason to care about the pair and their friendship… _relationship?_ But suddenly, Natasha found herself turning around and heading back in the direction of the living quarters.

It wasn’t about Vision, really. At least, that’s what Natasha told herself. Wanda was the only other female Avenger, she was practically Natasha’s protégée. Perhaps it was wrong of Nat to be avoiding her. How much of a spy was she really if she couldn’t discipline her emotions and put on a good front to be there for her teammate? That night at the tower she was still raw from being torn apart, there had been plenty of time to heal since then. She could handle this.

Nat was almost jogging by the time she reached Wanda’s door and immediately knocked a lot quicker and harder than she had intended to. There was a pregnant pause. Enough time for Natasha’s logical side to question her actions a little, but those thoughts quickly vanished when she sensed Wanda on the other side of the door. And just like that, she was staring into a pair of big, beautiful, somewhat sleepy green eyes.

“Nat-Agent Romanov…ummm…good morning?” the witch’s eyes went from tired to shocked to panicked within seconds. Natasha felt a stupid amount of sympathy for the poor girl who probably thought she was in trouble. It took a surprising amount of effort to stop herself from reaching out and attempting to physically comfort the younger woman. Instead she settled for coming up with something to say, because clearly she hadn’t thought this through and was now trying to say anything besides _Fuck Vision, you are spending the day with me._

Thankfully, what came out instead was, “Morning Maximoff, I was wondering what your plans were for the day?”

“I didn’t really have any. Viz had mentioned that we could go for a walk later.”

 _Oh great, they have pet names._ Natasha tried to shake off the ridiculous wave of jealousy washing over her and behave in a manner that was somewhat professional.

“That sounds nice,” she forced out, “However, I was about to drive into town to go to the spa and do a little shopping. I was wondering if you might like to join me? Have a little girl time?”

“Oh,” Nat could practically see the wheels spinning in the witch’s head, “I suppose that could be nice. I will need a moment to change though.”

The smile reached her lips before Natasha could stop it. “Great…yes…of course, take all the time you need.” While Natasha had certainly noticed the skimpy sleepwear, it hadn’t occurred to her that Wanda would probably want to change out of it. “I’ll be in the kitchen when you are ready.”

“Ok then, I will see you there.” Wanda returned the smile, somewhat shyly and quietly shut her door.

Natasha barely registered her walk from Wanda’s room to the kitchen. She was happy that Wanda had decided to come with her… _suspiciously happy._ Once in the large communal kitchen, she shrugged off the jacket and threw it, along with her purse into a chair at the bar. Her original plan had been to stop at Starbucks for a coffee on the way out but with the extra time she figured it was probably best to go ahead and brew a cup.

As the Keurig warmed up it hit her how silly and spontaneous her actions were. Today was her day off, her day to remove herself from the facility and everyone in it. She had been looking forward to the solitude all week and now all of the sudden she was inviting Wanda to tag along. She silently cursed her momentary lapse in judgement. Though, she _was_ still looking forward to spending time with the girl, possibly getting to know her, maybe getting to hear that laugh some more. But this would mean a whole week or two would have to pass before she would get the chance to have a day to herself again. And why did she suddenly care so much about Vision’s relationship with Wanda? They weren’t hurting anybody, in fact shouldn’t she be happy that someone else had stepped up, comforting and befriending the sad little orphan so she didn’t have to?

When Wanda finally entered the kitchen, Nat noticed that the outfit she had chosen was very similar to the one the witch wore the first time Natasha had seen her in Sokovia. Short, plain dress, tons of jewelry, dark makeup, boots, and a denim jacket with rips all over it. Where Natasha looked like she had just stepped out of a Nordstrom catalog, Wanda appeared to be auditioning for the roll of Obvious Goth Girl in a made-for-tv movie. Remembering her manners, and that the whole “girls day” thing had been her idea to begin with, Natasha put on a smile, “You look cute.” It wasn’t completely a lie, Wanda always looked cute.

“Thanks,” the witch’s gaze fell on the Keurig in the corner. “Do you mind if I get some coffee before we leave?”

“Yeah sure.”

As Wanda passed within a few feet of the Black Widow, Nat caught a wiff of the girl’s cheap perfume mixed with her own unique scent. Suddenly, she felt the need to add “I was gonna make you some to-go, but I uhhh….I wasn’t sure what you liked.”

“That’s nice, but I’m not picky.” Natasha couldn’t see which pod she ended up choosing. “So where are we going?”

“Well I have an appointment for a massage, facial, and mani-pedi at a spa in Syracuse, I can probably get you in for all that stuff too, then I thought maybe we could do some shopping. Does that work for you?”

“That sounds nice.” Wanda was guarded and it shouldn’t have bothered Natasha, but it did.

“We can do something else if you would like, where do you like to go in town?”

“I have been to the grocery store a few times.”

Realization dawned on Natasha. Wanda had probably never been outside of Sokovia before Ultron came into her life. Now she was suddenly in the middle of nowhere, in a strange country, and her closest friend was a robot. Of course she hadn’t wandered far away from the facility. There was no one to push her to do so and it’s not like she had been in a carefree adventure-type mood since her brother had died.

“So you’ve been shopping online then.” It wasn’t meant to be a question but Wanda nodded “Viz has been helping me.”

There was that nagging feeling of jealousy again. “Well, trust me, it’s a lot more fun in the store. Let’s get going, we’ve got a bit of a drive ahead of us.”

It was roughly an hour and a half to Syracuse. Along the way Natasha explained the different spa services to Wanda and then called to book them once the girl had made selections. The witch had asked rather timidly if they were allowed to use their Stark cards for things like that. The truth was Natasha didn’t know, nor did she care. No one had ever specified what the cards, which were issued to all the Avengers, should be used for nor had a limit ever been set.

“Tony doesn’t care what we use it for little witch.” Wanda gave her a doubtful look, “Trust me, if anyone says otherwise to you, just send them to me.” That earned her a smile, which made her feel warm and even a little giddy.

After the spa and lunch at one of Natasha’s favorite cafes, they hit the mall. Natasha groaned inwardly when they passed the Hot Topic and Wanda stopped dead in her tracks. Every fiber of her being repelled against the store, but when the little witch turned to her and asked if they could go inside, she was physically unable to refuse her.

It turned out to be fun, watching Wanda bounce around like a kid in a candy store. She learned a lot about the girl’s favorite bands and tv shows. Natasha even bought a couple of shirts but discreetly used her personal card to pay, not wanting Tony or anyone else to know she had willingly shopped there. Afterwards, Natasha convinced Wanda to try on clothes at Sacs and Banana Republic which turned out to be a huge mistake.

They had fallen into a routine of Natasha picking out different outfits, handing them to Wanda over the door of her dressing room, then sitting back while she modeled them one by one. It started out innocently enough, Natasha couldn’t deny that she was enjoying watching the girl walk around in clothes that hugged her in all the right places, her beautiful figure perfectly accentuated. She began to wish she could spend every day like this, making Wanda happy, because it felt so damn good. Then the dress happened.

It was a tiny, tight, black thing that Nat had claimed every woman should have in their closet. When Wanda called out for her help in the dressing room it hadn’t dawned on Natasha that being so close to the little witch or brushing against the smooth skin on her back with her fingertips as they slid the zipper up would create a molten heat that would rush to a very particular spot. It never occurred to the Black Widow that the scent of Wanda’s shampoo and perfume would hit her harder than a punch from Captain America and render her completely speechless as the younger Avenger brushed past her out of the tiny room to twirl in front of the large mirror in the waiting area. And it certainly never crossed Natasha’s mind that in this moment she would realize that she was attracted to Wanda. More than attracted, she wanted…needed to hold and touch this pretty little thing that was currently preening in a $400 dress while wearing dollar store lip gloss and scuffed up boots.

Lost in her trance, Nat missed Wanda’s question the first time. “What do you think?”

“I think-” _it would look better on the floor,_ “-you look incredible.”

Wanda flashed her the biggest smile she had seen yet, took one last look in the mirror then bounced back into the tiny changing room. Natasha closed the door behind her and realized as Wanda pulled her hair to the side that she now needed to help her unzip the damn thing.

She could do this, she had controlled her emotions for years around guns, knives, and bombs. Certainly she can unzip this stupid, stupid dress and get the hell out of the dressing room without incident. But as she started to unzip, leaving became the furthest thing from her mind. Instead, with every new expanse of skin revealed, Natasha started to imagine ripping the dress off, pushing Wanda against the mirror, and exploring every inch of her from behind while watching the little witch’s expressions in the reflection.

Then Wanda made a fatal mistake. Instead of waiting for Natasha to come to her senses and leave the dressing room, she allowed the dress to fall and pool around her ankles, giving Natasha a full view of her cute mismatched underwear along with a surprisingly toned tummy, perfectly round ass, and a pair of breasts that didn’t seem to want to stay encased in the lacy bra holding them up. By the time she turned to face the Black Widow, her fate had been sealed.

Natasha was gone, and in her place was pure desire. Without warning, her lips crashed against Wanda’s. There was a dull 'thunk' as the witch’s back hit the mirror which mercifully didn’t crack. It didn’t register that Wanda wasn’t fully participating nor that she wasn’t resisting either. Natasha knew what she needed and just how to give it to her.

One hand pulled the girl’s hip against her own, allowing her to grind obscenely against the younger woman while the other grabbed her hair and forced the exposure of Wanda’s gorgeous neck which instantly attracted the attention of Natasha’s lips. Her tongue and teeth felt their way to Wanda’s pulse point and when she imagined biting down into the soft flesh while feeling Wanda tighten around her, it happened. A pressure she hadn’t felt for years, a swelling that snapped her out of her stupor.

Fuck.

She pushed herself off of her teammate and took in the damage she had done. Wanda’s wide eyes, her swollen lips, her heavy breathing, Natasha could practically hear her heart racing, she swore she could smell arousal on the girl, but it didn't really matter. God, she was a monster.

“I’m so sorry” was all Nat whispered before rushing out of the room. She didn’t stop, didn’t look back until she had reached her car. As disgusted as she was with herself, the thoughts and images in her head were getting louder, fighting her common sense harder and harder by the second.

_She wanted it, why did you stop, go back and give her what she needs. Give her what only you can._

_Fuck._

She didn’t have much time, maybe five minutes before she lost control completely. She had to put space between her and Wanda, now. _Or just enough time to get the little witch into the car where you can pull her into your lap, giving you ample access to that stunning rack while you pleasure her._ The tires squealed and people screamed as she navigated the busy mall parking lot.

“Friday, call Agent Barton.”

She didn’t let him finish his cheery greeting, “Clint, Code Black, in my car, will inject myself in three minutes.”

“Roger that, I’m tracking your location. Pull over and I’ll be there soon.”

“I need to get a little bit farther before I can stop, but I’ll stay in the vehicle.”

“Miss Romanov, Wanda Maximoff is calling.”

**Fuck.**

“Nat, is Wanda ok?”

“She’s fine, I just had to leave her rather suddenly. I’ll send someone to collect her.”

There was a brief pause in which Clint was probably putting together the pieces in his head. “Ok Nat, I’ll be there soon.” And with that he hung up.

“Friday, answer.”

“Natasha, are you ok?”

Double fuck.

“Wanda I’m so sorry, just hang tight and someone will come get you, I promise. I’m sorry.” She hung up before the girl could respond. She felt the pressure in her jeans grow, responding to Wanda’s voice, her attention, her concern. Her brain was ping ponging between anxiety over how she would handle the aftermath to increasingly explicit images of the little witch. She struggled to focus on the road, weaving in and out of vehicles while going as fast as her concentration would safely allow.

“Friday, call-”

“Miss Romanov, Steve Rogers is calling.”

All the fucks.

“Natasha, what’s going on? Wanda just called Vision-” her grip on the steering wheel tightened considerably and Nat momentarily thought it might break, “-she said you left her and she’s worried-”

“Steve listen, it’s my thing….my change, I left so I wouldn’t hurt her. Clint is coming get me. Just, please make sure she gets back safely. Tell her I’m sorry-ah” the vehicle began to swerve, her body was taking over, trying to turn around and go back for Wanda. She had to do this now.

“Nat! Are you ok?”

“I’m fine.” She gritted her teeth as she pulled off the interstate onto an off-ramp, and rolled to the shoulder before stopping. She opened the console and dug through all of her crap to pop open the secret compartment at the bottom and grab one of the syringes. “Just take care of Wanda.” And with that she killed the engine and the call.

She was grateful that no one could see into the vehicle as she was certain she looked like a crazed drug addict as she tied the strap around her arm, found the vein, plunged the needle, and emptied the syringe. Within seconds she lost movement in her arms and legs and, with the knowledge that she could no longer hurt Wanda, she finally submitted to the fantasies trying to penetrate her brain as she nodded off into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

“Are you ok?” Waverly gave her girlfriend a concerned look which Nicole dismissed with a wave of her hand, turning to begin the process of removing her badge, gun, and other accessories.

She had held Wanda for a long time while the woman cried out what must have been years of choked back emotions. Eventually the sobs grew quieter and then they just stood there in silence. Nicole knew it had been a long time but the embrace had felt good and she was happy she let it happen.

When they finally parted, they had found Waverly waiting outside on the porch, playing on her phone. Before the small girl could acknowledge them, a large circle formed in midair just feet away and Dr. Strange stepped out. Noticing that neither Wanda nor Waverly seemed surprised, Nicole had just shrugged it off, _sure, ok, magic portals, why not?_

“Did you two have a nice talk?” the wizard’s question was directed at Nicole. She got the sense that Wanda rarely spoke for herself these days.

“Yeah, I think we got a few things straightened out.” Nicole responded coolly, “Would you two be able to come by the station tomorrow morning? I’d like to see if I can help Ms. Maximoff find out some more information on her daughter.”

Something passed in the doctor _…wizard's?_ eyes, then he responded with a forced smile, “Absolutely Sheriff, what time would you like us there?”

“Around 9 works for me.”

“Thank you. We will see you in the morning.” And just like that, the wizard and the witch climbed into their vehicle and were gone. Wanda had spared one last look at Nicole and it had been like a knife to the heart. She wanted to help this woman desperately, even if she couldn’t fully logic out why.

“Babe?” Waverly snatched her away from her thoughts.

“Sorry, I’m fine. Just feel bad for her is all, she’s really hurting.”

“You don’t believe her do you.” It wasn’t a question.

“Waves, I have parents, their names are on my birth certificate and last time I checked I wasn’t able to shoot flames from my fingertips.” Waverly rolled her eyes at that remark.

“True, but with everything we’ve seen, a fake birth certificate doesn’t sound that far-fetched and we don’t know how she got those powers. Maybe she got bit by a radioactive vampire or something and they couldn’t be passed down genetically.”

Nicole nodded, as usual Waverly made some good points. If she was being honest, she would love to find out that her real parents were actually decent, loving people that cared for her and wanted to support her. The superpowers would be a nice bonus as well. But she couldn’t let herself become hopeful, not when logic all but promised to let her down eventually.

“Hey,” Waverly crossed the room and straddled her girlfriend where she sat on the edge of the bed, “no matter what we find out, none of it will change who you are. You are still the sexy, kind, funny woman that I love, do you understand?” Waverly had punctuated each compliment with a kiss and Nicole nodded as she bit her lower lip, suddenly finding it hard to remember what she had been thinking about before Waverly settled onto her lap.

She instinctively placed her hands on the brunette’s hips as the smaller woman continued to trail kisses and light nips along her neck. Nicole hummed appreciatively when her girlfriend began to gently grind against her. The more she pressed, the tighter Nicole’s grip became. The red-head was properly worked up and ready to escalate things to the next level when Waverly pulled back and declared, “I think I’m going to go take a shower.”

With a quick peck to the tip of Nicole’s nose she extracted herself from the taller woman’s grip and then promptly bounced to the bathroom. Nicole’s brain didn’t quite catch up until she heard the shower turn on. With a frustrated huff she stood up and began removing her clothes on her way to the small en-suite.

She could see Waverly’s slim silhouette through the frosted glass door, dipping her long hair under the spray. Distracted as she was, it took a moment to remove her uniform, but once she did, Nicole pulled open the shower door with a little more force than necessary then wasted no time in stepping in under the spray and wrapping Waverly in her arms. She kissed the brunette deep, her tongue immediately demanding entrance.

Waverly gave as good as she got, moaning and grabbing her girlfriend’s ass but Nicole was done with letting Waves have her way. She grabbed both of the shorter woman’s wrists and pinned them above her head while simultaneously pressing her into the side of the shower. Waverly squeaked at the sensation of the cold fiberglass against her back but moments later was far too preoccupied with her girlfriend roughly squeezing and massaging her breasts to continue giving a damn.

Nicole prided herself on her discipline, her control, but Waverly had made her question all of it from the moment they met. Her need for the girl was strong and unyielding. Still, she had been chivalrous, however difficult it was she had let Waverly make all the first moves, pushing them forward. It had been Waverly who had kissed her first, Waverly who had initiated sex the first time, and Waverly who had finally begged Nicole to take her hard and rough one night when she just couldn’t take it anymore. Even so, as Nicole stood in the small shower groping the brunette freely, she paid attention to every sound, every expression, never willing to chance hurting her girl.

It was only due to that vigilance that she was able to detect the smaller woman’s shiver. Removed from the spray of the hot water, even Nicole’s body heat hadn’t been enough to make up for the chill of Waverly’s wet skin. So she moved.

Waverly was pulled under the stream of water once again and Nicole wrapped her hands possessively around her from behind, one gripping her breast, and the other covering her most sensitive area. The red-head’s lips busied themselves sucking a hickey onto Waverly’s shoulder, just low enough that it could be covered. With Nicole’s oral fixation it was frankly surprising how many marks the brunette was able to keep hidden. Though occasionally her older sister would catch a glimpse and promptly announce it to the world.

Even still, Waverly never chided her lover. In fact, more than once Nicole had caught her inspecting the marks in the mirror, a devilish smile on her face. She would apologize, Waverly would tell her not to, and the exchange would inevitably end with Nicole leaving even more marks across Waverly’s honeyed skin.

While Nicole’s mouth and the hand on Waverly’s breasts moved roughly, almost savagely against her body, the hand teasing her below was soft and light. Nicole rubbed gentle circles around where Waverly wanted her touch the most. Her fingers danced and tapped everywhere else but conveniently kept missing Waverly’s increasingly swollen clit. The tiny brunette huffed in annoyance. She knew this was revenge for her teasing earlier.

She reached back and grabbed a handful of red locks, tugging softly, wordlessly begging Nicole for more. Her answer was a dark chuckle.

“Need something baby?”

Waverly nodded frantically.

“Use your words, love.”

She bit her bottom lip, determined not to give in. Nicole loved it when she begged, and honestly, Waverly had no problem complying with that. But the longer she held out, the more delicious the reward would be.

“C’mon sweetie, you know what I need to hear.”

Waverly held firm even as Nicole began ghosting her fingers softly over her clit, making her hips jump and squirm trying to subconsciously increase the contact. Nicole panted in her ear, she would never admit it but she was becoming more and more desperate by the moment as well. It didn’t take long before she switched tactics.

“You know it’s time like this I wish I had a dick. I could bend you over and slip inside you so easily then fuck your brains out, not letting you cum until you finally begged me like the good little slut you are.”

A choked sob escaped Waverly’s lips, she would have never predicted Nicole’s talent for dirty talk but damn was the redhead good at it.

“Do it,” she finally whined, “fuck me Nicole, please, fuck me, I wanna be a good little slut for you.”

And then she was lightly pushed forward. Instinctively she caught herself on the opposite wall of the shower as Nicole pulled her hips back flush against her own. Her girlfriend’s hand resumed its place but this time she dived right in, rubbing furious circles against her clit.

While Nicole focused all of her attention on the glorious friction that would push her girl to climax, her hips subconsciously pushed against Waverly’s plush ass, imagining she really was penetrating the girl, pumping into her. Even with all the water splashing over their bodies, she could feel Waverly’s arousal coating her fingers and it invigorated her.

Waverly no longer cared about winning their little game, she had gotten what she wanted and she was nothing but a writhing mess in Nicole’s hands. A string of incoherent curse words fell unbidden from her lips. She was so damn close thanks to all of Nicole’s teasing. She could feel the redhead pushing against her and the thought that all of this was working her up as well pushed Waverly over the edge.

She felt her legs go numb and was sure she would have collapsed had it not been for Nicole's strong grip on her body. She could hear her heart beating in her ears, pulsing, pushing her blood swiftly south. Waverly’s eyes snapped open and her lips curved around a silent scream. All at once a wave of pleasure converged and crested right where Nicole's fingers continued to rub frantic circles into her clit. She rode it, the euphoric tide became all consuming, until she felt as if all sensation had emptied from her body leaving behind a pleasant hum of soft energy. But then all at once it came crashing back and she intensely felt the pressure of Nicole's fingers and she pressed into the contact one last time causing yet another wave to crest.

Finally, her hips snapped back away from Nicole's touch, the redhead didn't move her hand but didn't chase Waverly either. She just waited and held the brunette. With the hand supporting her, Nicole rubbed soft circles into Waverly's skin with her thumb. After a few moments she pressed her fingers back against Waverly's overly sensitive clit, not rubbing, just creating delicious pressure which caused a wonderful aftershock to shudder through Waverly's body. Nicole repeated the process a few times until Waverly finally reached down to grab her hand.

She straightened up, not caring about the blast of water to the face as a result of the new angle. Luckily, Nicole was there, turning her around and wrapping her up in her strong arms. Waverly tipped her head up just as Nicole was leaning down. The kiss was gentle and sweet, such a contrast to their earlier dialogue. When they finally broke apart, smiles stretched across both of their faces.

Waverly looked up at her girlfriend mischievously and whispered “my turn”, right before she sank to her knees and, without hesitation, dived into Nicole’s pussy tongue first.

For the second time that night, Nicole’s brain had to race to catch up to present events. She opened her mouth, whether to protest or encourage they would never know because moments later, keeping her body upright and not crashing down on top of the brunette currently running her tongue through embarrassingly slick folds was her only priority. Waverly, it seemed, had an entirely different set of priorities as she wrapped her lips around Nicole’s clit and sucked lightly, her wide eyes innocently catching her girlfriend’s glazed ones as she did it.

Satisfied that she had the control she wanted, Waverly grabbed her girlfriends right thigh and hitched it over her shoulder, using the new angle to begin thrusting her tongue in and out of Nicole’s opening, gathering as much desire with her tongue as she could. Nicole desperately grabbed the top of the shower door. She was used to Waverly being a bit….aggressive in bed but this was another level. In a pitifully short amount of time, she began to feel a familiar buildup. She opened her mouth, fully intent on warning Waverly but all that came out were choked vowel sounds, followed by a groan as her orgasm washed over her.

Waverly held firm, allowing Nicole to grind against her face, catching as much of Nicole’s nectar in her mouth as possible, savoring the taste. When the red-head tried to lift her leg off the smaller girl’s shoulder, Waverly grabbed her thigh, trapping her there, allowing Nicole to ride out her aftershocks against her lips. After she was certain her girlfriend was completely sated, Waverly gently removed herself and stood up, enjoying the look of pure satisfaction plastered across the taller woman’s face.

She giggled then reached up to give the Nicole a quick kiss, allowing her tongue to briefly swipe into the red-heads mouth so she could taste her own arousal earning her a moan. When they broke apart she leaned her forehead against Waverly’s. Nicole wasn’t sure if she necessarily believed in God, but whatever cosmic forces had allowed Waverly Earp to fall in love with her, had her undying gratitude.  
They stayed like that for a while, wrapped up in each other, nothing but the sounds of the running water penetrating their bubble. Finally, Waverly broke the silence.

“Babe?”

“Hmmmm?”

“Can we get out, the water is freezing.”

“Oh crap!”

Nicole reached around Waverly and quickly shut off the taps. Her girlfriend was right, the water had turned ice cold. Knowing that Waverly must be absolutely miserable she threw the door open and grabbed the first towel she could reach and immediately wrapped it around the shivering brunette, pulling her back into a tight hug so she could envelope the girl in her body heat.

“I’m so sorry baby.”

Waverly giggled again, “It’s not a big deal, I swear I didn’t even notice until like a second ago.”

“Still, I guess neither of us are gonna get very clean tonight. Let’s get you dry and warm ok?”

Waverly nodded and allowed Nicole to continue fussing over her, content in the fact that her girlfriend’s thoughts would remain untroubled for the remainder of the evening.

\--------------------------------------------------

“She’s taller than I expected.”

“Hmm?” Wanda drew her gaze from the frosted window and the flurries that had begun to fall outside.

“Your daughter.” Dr. Strange supplied.

“I guess so.” You would think by now the wizard would have picked up on her aversion to small talk. But he continued.

“I spoke to her friend while you two were inside, the little one, I think she may believe us.”

“She’s Nicole’s girlfriend.” Wanda offered absentmindedly.

“Oh, she told you that?”

“No, just, the way Nikki tried to protect her, it was…..I could just tell.” Her hand reached up on instinct to pick at the thin scab on the side of her neck but was instantly swatted away by a large piece of fabric which forced itself in between her back and the seat and then wrapped softly around her neck. Wanda huffed her annoyance.

“You know this cloak really doesn’t go with my outfit.” She spat out, having reached her emotional limit about two hours ago.

Her companion remained unphased. “You’ve come this far Wanda, do you really want to have a relapse now?”

She chose not to answer that because honestly, she wasn’t sure. After the years she spent in a fantasy, reality seemed, well…unnecessary. Nicole was happy without her and probably much better off, Natasha was gone, why bother trying to mend what is beyond repair? What could she possibly hope to offer Nicole now? It was selfish, all of this. Strange didn’t understand, neither did Clint for that matter but she had promised him she would try.

As they rolled into town, she could barely make out the store fronts through the snow. But even in the dark of night she recognized everything. Nothing had changed here, nothing except the people. But even if it looked like she was home again, she knew was trespassing in this place. Without Natasha, she could never truly come back.


	5. Chapter 5

Everything was too heavy. Her fingers, her limbs, her head. It was like that dream where you’re awake and trying to sit up but are being held down by an unseen force. Natasha opened her eyes and was relieved to be staring at the ceiling of her own bedroom. Instinctively, she tried to turn her head to look around but immediately was overwhelmed by the effort of it all. Instead she focused on what she could hear.

A heart monitor, beeping steadily, the whoosh of the fan blades overhead, and from somewhere in the corner of the room, snoring.

“Clint.” She called out as loud as her vocal cords would allow.

“Nat?” his sleepy response made her smile internally, she wasn’t sure if it ever registered on her face. She heard a chair scrape and then there he was, swimming in front of her vision, tired and in desperate need of a shave.

“Nice of you to finally join me.” He quipped. She mentally gave him the middle finger.

“How long have I been out?”

“Ummm, two and a half, maybe three days. Not too bad.”

“What’s the damage?” she sighed.

“Well we had to put an IV and catheter in. Thankfully I convinced everyone you didn’t need the feeding tube for another day or so-”

“-you know what I mean Clint.”

“Everything’s fine. Your little flight from the mall didn’t even make the evening news. Your car does have a chip in the windshield though, you’re lucky I saw it, would have spread had I not filled it-“

“-WANDA! Clint, is she ok?!”

He took a deep breath, Nat’s heart sank. “Physically, she’s fine. Mild bruising I think, as well as a new addiction to overpriced clothing.” She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding in.

“What happened Nat?” She didn’t want to relive it. But she needed Clint, she needed someone who could help stop her from hurting anyone with this demon inside of her. He had done it for years, helped put in place all of her safeguards, her self-awareness, her training that had probably saved countless lives. She owed him her honesty.

“Could you help me sit up a little?”

“Yeah, hold on.” He wrapped his arms around her, lifting up her body and then placing pillows behind her so that when he was done, she was partially sitting up and able to look him in the eye sitting in the chair next to her bed among the various wires and tubes that she was connected to. This would have been easier in a hospital bed, but Clint would have insisted she not be kept in the med bay. He would have been the one to physically move her body so that no one else would know her secret. He would have changed her clothes, placed the catheter, everything it took to keep her alive while she was incapacitated. As annoying as he could be, she loved this man and could never repay him for everything he had done for her.

“What did Wanda say?” Nat asked, curious as to what he already knew.

“I haven’t spoken to her directly. Haven’t really left your apartment much and didn’t know how much you wanted her to know so I haven’t let her in. Cap said that she was ok but really upset and worried about you. They found her sleeping in the hallway outside your door the night after it happened, Steve got her some stuff to help her sleep after that.” He paused and waited for Natasha to process the information.

“Nat, did she attack you?”

“No! Of course not.”

“I only ask because I know her powers can be unstable, and in my experience this has only ever happened when you feel the need to protect yourself against ridiculous odds.”

“It wasn’t that.”

“So then, what did she do that set you off?”

“She didn’t do anything Clint, she just…” _he’s going to think I’m crazy,_ “she just smelled really nice.”

“Oh…well, yeah I get it, sometimes Laura puts on that Chanel No. 5 and next thing you know I’m driving 130 down the interstate-”

“-shut up! It wasn’t JUST that. It was...I don’t know why but I wanted her.” There was a heavy pause.

“Like… _wanted her_ wanted her?”

“Like I wanted her in every way you could have a person, romantically, sexually, I wanted her attention, I wanted to make her happy. So we were in the dressing room and it all just hit me at once and I pushed her up against the wall and I kissed her. And then when I felt myself changing I realized what was happening and I left. I got as far away as I could.”

She braced for another joke but it never came. Instead he asked, “How long have you felt this way about her?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t realize until that moment that those were the feelings I was having. Christ, I barely knew anything about her until that day, other than the fact that she had stolen my favorite jacket…oh crap.”

“Your jacket’s fine Nat, you left it with Wanda and she brought it back with her-“

“-no Clint, it was the jacket. She had sto _-borrowed_ it when we were in Sokovia. The thing reeked of her scent and when I put it on that morning I suddenly couldn’t stop thinking about her and then the more time we spent together the more I thought about her and then we were in the dressing room and…that was it. It was her smell, that’s what spurred it, I think.”

“So, has this ever happened before?”

She had to think for a moment. “Not so much the being lured in by a scent part, but when I was younger certain women would spark this reaction, if I spent a lot of time near them.”

“How did you handle it then?”

“I don’t know that you could say I did.” She hesitated briefly, Clint knew she wasn’t proud of the things she had done before he found her and she didn’t know if anything she said at this point would make her less of a monster in his eyes, but it still didn’t make admitting her past any easier.

“When I was in the Red Room, there was a girl I grew fond of. I thought about her all the time, and one day during training…something happened…she got hurt and I lashed out, killed several people before they took me down. From that point on, they kept a tranquilizer gun on hand, and at night I was chained to the bed so even when I would fantasize about her, I couldn’t do anything about it. She died in training.

Then when I got out there was a girl I got close to while I was undercover on a mission. She wasn’t the target, but she became a distraction. I recognized what was happening and so I…I hired a prostitute.” She waited for his reaction to that one, but he didn’t judge her, just inquired further.

“So that helped? You were able to be around the woman and maintain control as long as you had that outlet?”

“Not really, it cleared my mind enough to be able to put distance between us, finish my job and get away from her. From then on I just avoided getting too close to women. Surrounded myself with men, made sure to keep myself sexually satisfied, and focused on getting my job done. By the time I met you I thought I had this under control, the sexual aspect of it at least.”

Clint was quiet for a while, and then he asked, “How do you feel about Wanda now?”

“Guilty,” was the first thing to come to mind, “ashamed, like I’ve failed her.”

“Are you still attracted to her though?” Natasha thought back to Wanda, before she had ruined everything and lost control. Thought about her voice, her smile, her eyes, her laugh, her figure.

“Yeah.” She whispered, secretly grateful that she couldn’t yet feel the lower-half of her body, though logically she knew that by now she was so weak that the effects had dissipated and she couldn’t change at the moment even if she wanted to.

“Well I think we both know what happens now.”

“Steve will kill us both if we bring in a prostitute.”

“No,” he laughed, “but let me know if you ever need help with that because I’m sure Tony would love to-“

“-move on asshole.”

“Well, how did we get you to the point that you were able to fight without losing control?”

“By making training my whole life, desensitizing me, forcing me to live in the moment so often that control became effortless-“ then it hit her what he was suggesting “-no Clint.”

“Why not? It worked before.”

“Because it’s not fair to subject Wanda to that, besides are you gonna follow me around with restraints in case I mess up?”

“Technically she could restrain you herself-“

“-Clint” Natasha gave him her best warning look.

“Could be kinky.”

“Go to hell.”

“Besides how do you know how Wanda feels about it without talking to her first? You said yourself she didn’t attack you, maybe your advances weren’t entirely unwelcome.” He suggested.

“She was in shock and her powers have failed her before.”

“Well regardless of how you choose to work through this, you need to talk to her at some point.”

“I know,” she wanted to argue but deep down she knew he was right.

“In the meantime, can you keep down a protein shake? You’re going on three days with nothing but IV fluids.”

She smiled at him, grateful that he wasn’t pushing her to talk about Wanda anymore. They spent the rest of the day hanging out, watching the TV in her bedroom, while he fed her liquid nutrients through a straw. Her strength slowly returned and by that night she was off all tubes and wiring, able to move around mostly on her own, and was able to feed herself soup. Clint had kept everyone up to date on her status so she didn’t have to worry about visitors. 

Her situation had long since dissipated and there was no threat of it returning while she was still this weak. However, she still panicked internally went they heard a knock on her door and Wanda’s small voice came from the other side, “Clint?”

He locked eyes with Natasha and she shook her head. He nodded and went into the other room, Natasha heard the door open, then close, then muffled voices on the other side. Meanwhile, she tried very hard not to think about how wildly her heart was fluttering. Moments later, Clint returned.

“Thanks” she whispered.

“Don’t thank me yet, I told her she could come see you tomorrow. I need someone to check on you anyways, I have to head back in the morning.”

She glared, knowing he was right but still not too keen on facing reality just yet. He smirked back at her, “It’s either that, or we revisit the prostitute idea.”

\---------------------------------------------------

Every bone in Nat’s body felt like it was made of lead. Even so, she couldn’t sit still as she shuffled about the apartment, picking up small pieces of clutter and fluffing pillows. After everything that transpired over the last few days, these things seemed ridiculously trivial in regards to Wanda’s opinion of her. But regardless, she felt the need to make sure Wanda was comfortable in her space.

She had just settled back onto the couch, determined not to get back up again when the timid knock came.

“Come in.” she called.

The door opened slowly, as if Wanda didn’t quite trust the Black Widow’s consent to enter. Had Natasha been in a sound state of mind, she would have said that Wanda looked like crap. The witch was paler than usual with dark circles under her eyes. She moved as if she didn’t trust her own feet. Her hair showed evidence of briefly consulting a brush, but beyond that, Nat wasn’t sure the girl had done anything along the lines of self-care in the last three days.

However, as it was, in her post sex-crazed mind, all Natasha could register was those beautiful lips pursing together nervously. She also couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt in the knowledge that she had been responsible for scaring and worrying the fragile soul in front of her. She wanted to go to her, to wrap her arms around the younger woman, kiss her forehead, and whisper every reassurance that things would be ok.

Instead, she offered the witch a seat on the couch.

Wanda avoided eye contact with Natasha the whole time, taking great interest in the plain beige carpet beneath her cute little socked feet.

The need to physically console Wanda tugged even more insistently at Natasha but she kept her hands to herself. The Black Widow had rehearsed the conversation repeatedly in her mind for most of the last day or so. Yet, now faced with the woman who had crawled into her thoughts and set up camp, the master spy and ex-assassin struggled to remember her lines.

Thankfully, it was Wanda who spoke first.

“How are you feeling?” she cast a side-long glance in Nat’s direction, her head ducked, not unlike a child awaiting a scolding.

“I’m fine malen'kaya ved'ma,” _Where did that pet name come from?_ “it’s you I’m concerned about.”

“I’ve been so worried.” Wanda’s response stung more than it should have, especially the way her voice broke.

“I’m sorry, more than I think you can possibly know.”

“It’s alright Natasha, I’m just happy that you are better.”

“I don’t think you understand.” Wanda finally lifted her head to fully connect her eyes with Natasha’s, who took a moment to appreciate their unique shade of green before continuing, “What I did Wanda, it was unacceptable. I should have never attacked you like that, should never have let myself be put in a position to lose control around you.”

“Nat, I don’t think-” The older woman held up a hand to interrupt the witch, she was on a roll, and clearly her mind was still somewhat compromised. She needed to get this out while she still had full command of her tongue.

“There are things about me you don’t know Wanda. Bi-products of my time in the Red Room, things that most people, even my teammates aren’t privy to. I do my best to manage and control it, in fact, until a few days ago, I allowed myself to believe that I had finally conquered the demon inside me. But clearly, I was wrong and you paid the price. For that, I can not forgive myself. What I can do is take every step possible to ensure it never happens again. And you would be smart to avoid me, less I should fail.”

Wanda looked as if Natasha had just slapped her across the face. Anger wasn’t the emotion Nat had anticipated. Fear, confusion, yes, but not anger. However, she could work with anger, could use that to her advantage.

“No.” That caught the red-head off guard a little. She had never seen the witch that confident or decisive. _It's fucking hot._ She shook her head and forced her mind to stay on track.

“No what?” she asked stupidly.

“No I will not avoid you. You are my teammate, my,” she hesitated, “…my friend. And regardless of what you think, you did not 'attack' me, in fact, nothing you did caused me pain except leaving.”

For a moment, Natasha questioned her memory, normally she was able to recall quite vividly her actions when the monster took over. She had definitely kissed Wanda, she could still feel the ghost of her lips. Still, she felt as if the incident required recounting.

“I invaded your personal space. I forced my hands, my lips upon you without your consent, and I practically molested you and took advantage of a situation where you were vulnerable. I won’t pretend like any of that was acceptable.”

“Did I stop you?”

“You shouldn’t have to.” Nat bit back.

The Scarlet Witch ran her fingers through her hair, retracting it quickly when she reached a knot. Natasha wanted to reach out and untangle it for her. Wanda’s eyes darted frantically around the room as if the words she needed were written on the walls. Finally, she muttered something that sounded like it was in Sokovian. Nat thought it roughly translated to, “How can you be this blind?”

“What?”

Wanda stood up and faced the red-head, faint red swirls circled her fingers and her eyes glared crimson.

“I wanted it Natasha. I fucking wanted it, all of it. I spent that entire goddamn day wanting to touch you, wanting to do something to indicate that you were special to me. I wanted to be closer, to know you more intimately and I just couldn’t figure out why. I’ve never had those feelings for another woman and I didn’t have a name for them until you kissed me.”

She felt the last few words hang in the air between them, green eyes locked onto green. Wanda struggled to catch her breath, as if she had been running a marathon. Nat was uncertain how to navigate this latest twist. Part of her was stupidly elated. So much so that had she been physically at 100%, she might have stood up, thrown Wanda down on the couch and picked up right where she left off in the dressing room. That part of her, needed to shut the fuck up.

The rational part of Natasha recoiled from any joy this latest revelation stirred up. It didn’t matter. A crush didn’t give her permission to take advantage of the girl. Besides, Wanda was young and her childhood had been rocky to say the least. These feelings of Wanda’s were probably something else operating under the mask of attraction. They didn’t change a thing.

Wanda’s gaze was burning holes in her resolve so she looked away.

“You’re confused, little witch.”

“Don’t tell me what I am.”

“You said yourself that you couldn’t put a label to your feelings, not until I defined them for you. How do you know it’s not just camaraderie or a mommy complex or something?”

“Because what I want from you, no parent or friend could ever give.”

Nat shook her head, wondering whether this whole thing was a giant mistake when Wanda took a step towards her.

It shocked them both when Natasha abruptly grabbed Wanda’s wrist, her hand inches from reaching the redhead’s cheek. The Black Widow stood up, the witch’s arm still in her grasp. She decreased the gap between them, her eyes burning into the younger woman’s. Wanda stood her ground, clearly determined not to be intimidated.

Nat was now close enough to feel the exhale of Wanda’s breath tickling her lips. Those big, beautiful eyes were pulling her forward, daring her to get lost in them. The witch’s heavenly scent swarmed her senses and, against her will, Natasha dipped her head to inhale deeply in the space right above where Wanda’s neck and shoulder met.

The brunette gasped and parted her lips, silently pleading for Nat to close the gap between them. Natasha pulled back and for a moment, thought she had lost control. Drunk off of Wanda’s scent she almost crossed the line. But luckily the demon inside was weak from fighting the drugs and it was her rational mind that prevailed.

“Go.” She whispered, not yet releasing Wanda’s tiny wrist.

“Nat-”

“I said get out Wanda!” she yelled much louder than intended. To be fair though, she was struggling to be heard over the voices in her head screaming to drag her teammate into the bedroom and give the girl everything she thought she wanted.

Natasha only got a glimpse of the shine in Wanda’s eyes as she ripped her arm away, turned around, and left the apartment, door slamming behind her.

Frustrated and horny, Nat shuffled to the liquor cabinet to drown the memories of Wanda’s scent away.


	6. Chapter 6

For the first time in hundreds of years, the sheriff’s office was frustratingly quiet.

Subconsciously, Nicole had been sorta hoping that duty would call this morning, as it always does. It’s not that she didn’t want to help Ms. Maximoff, but Waverly’s words from last night were still swimming in her head, refusing to settle. 

As usual, her pint-sized girlfriend was right. After everything that had happened to them, was it so hard to accept that she could be adopted? But deep down, that wasn’t what was really bothering her.  
Secretly, she was worried that it could be true. That she was so agonizingly plain and boring that her supernatural parents had abandoned her because of it. It stoked her other concerns that she kept so carefully buried, that her enhanced friends and literal angel of a girlfriend would eventually leave her behind.

“I think it’s electromagnetic.” Said angel piped up from her seat up on Nicole’s desk. Where Nicole was dreading the arrival of their new guests, Waverly was practically giddy with excitement. She had spent the majority of the morning obsessing over their abilities.

“Her swirly flames of death.” She clarified, “But that Dr. Strange guy is different, like more traditional magician, you know? They clearly aren’t cut from the same cloth, or coven.”

“I’m sure he will be happy to answer whatever questions you have babe.” Nicole straightened the chairs at the table for the fourth time that morning, stopping when she felt a soft hand on her arm. She turned around to face Waverly.

“Hey, you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry Waves, I’m just struggling to get past the whole possible parentage thing.”

“No, I’m the one who should be sorry, this is a really big deal. I just get distracted by shiny magical things.” She rose to her tiptoes to plant a chaste kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek. Nicole blushed, unable to fight a smirk. “No matter what we find out, you are still you, aka a ginger bad-ass who I am totally in love with.”

The sound of the front door opening cut the redhead’s reply off. She settled for returning the kiss then put on her best ‘in charge’ face.

“Sheriff Haught, Miss Earp.” Dr. Strange entered first followed by the Maximoff woman who managed to look even more uncomfortable than she had the previous evening. Waverly, the one-woman welcome wagon that she was, zoned in on Wanda immediately.

“I don’t think we had a chance to properly meet yesterday, I’m Waverly Earp, unofficial town historian.”

The witch eyed Waverly’s outstretched hand for a few tense seconds before she thankfully reciprocated, offering a mumbled, “hi” in response as she clasped Waverly’s hand in hers.

“If it’s ok with you, I think Waverly might be able to help with our investigation. She knows more about the people here than anyone else.”

Wanda nodded her assent and they all seated themselves around the table. Nicole cleared her throat and began.

“So…Wanda, when and where was your daughter born?”

“January 5th, 2021 in Wakanda.”

“Where is that?” Nicole ignored the exact match of her birthday.

“Eastern Africa.” Waverly answered automatically.

“That’s an awful long way from Purgatory.”

“We moved here shortly afterwards.”

“Any particular reason why?”

“Natasha said we would be safe here. The Ghost River Triangle would shield us from being tracked by magic or modern technology.”

“Was that your wife? Natasha?”

Wanda nodded, once again looking as if she would bolt out of the room at any moment.

“What was Natasha’s last name?”

“Romanov.” Dr. Strange answered for Wanda.

“Wait a minute,” Waverly interjected, “are you talking about the Black Widow?”

All eyes at the table turned to Waverly who looked like she was about to explode from excitement, or information overload, or both.

“Black Widow, the Avengers, Ultron, the Accords, that was all-“ she cut herself off with a loud gasp, “Oh my God, that means…you’re the Scarlet Witch! I can’t believe I didn’t see it before!” Suddenly the tiny brunette was up and running out the room, presumably to go grab something from her desk upstairs.

Nicole made awkward eye contact with the two sorcerers. “For the record, I know about the Avengers but I’m not entirely sure about the rest of that stuff she is talking about.”

As if to answer Nicole, Waverly burst back in merely seconds later with her laptop, typing eagerly with one hand as she walked.

“It was this huge deal like twenty something years ago, we were babies, but all this crazy stuff happened in Wakanda and like half the population disappeared for the like five years and then they were all brought back and the Avengers were either to blame or our saviors-depending on who you asked-I mean Wynonna said it never affected us here for some reason, but they were sorta busy dealing with the revenants anyways."

“Ok slow down, you’re talking about the Blip right?”

“Yeah,” Waverly placed the laptop in front of Nicole, an article entitled _The Sokovian Accords and the Blip: How reigning in Earth’s mightiest heroes ultimately prevented them from stopping Thanos_ was pulled up, “ok so it all started with this incident in Lagos where the Scarlet Witch…or, well you” she nodded towards Wanda who had a dumbstruck look on her face, “accidentally set off an explosion that killed like eleven people, mostly Wakandans.”

“So you guys were Avengers?” Nicole normally tried not to interrupt Waverly’s rantings but her head was spinning and she was trying to get a grasp on logic.

“Not me, just Ms. Maximoff.” Dr. Strange answered.

“Not for very long.” Wanda supplemented.

“And you were married to the Black Widow?”

She nodded sadly.

Nicole exchanged a look with Waverly who was practically vibrating.

“And you lived in Purgatory?”

“It was after the Accords right?” Waverly spoke up before Wanda could answer, “Y’all must have been in hiding here, that’s why it was so important that you couldn’t be tracked.”

Wanda nodded again.

“Oh my God,” Waverly’s eyes got impossibly wider, “is one of the Avengers Nicole’s father? Is it Thor?!”

“I think,” Dr. Strange interjected loudly a split second before Nicole was about to do the same, “we are getting a little ahead of ourselves. Why don’t we take a short break then we can talk about Wanda’s connection to Nicole more in-depth?”

“Oh,” Waverly looked at Wanda who was clearly on the verge of tears, “of course, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Wanda stood up, “I just need some air.” And then she was gone, the front door opening and closing seconds later. Almost immediately, Dr. Strange’s cloak unclasped itself and zoomed through the air after her. The door opened and closed again and the man sighed, seemingly unphased by the actions of his clothing.

“There’s something I think you both should know.”

Nicole felt like that was a massive understatement but simply nodded for him to continue as Waverly sat back down next to her.

“Wanda was a victim of the Blip. And, as you both probably already know, Natasha Romanov died retrieving the soul stone.”

Nicole just muttered, “sure” while Waverly nodded confidently.

“Well when Wanda came back, her wife was dead and her daughter was five years older, living a normal life with a completely different family. It was…difficult for her to accept. Understandably, she went through somewhat of a mental breakdown. Her powers trapped her in a sort of coma and she has been suspended in that state for almost fifteen years. She still hasn’t emotionally processed what has happened. For her, less than a few weeks ago she still had a wife and a toddler and a completely different life. So while I think it’s important for us to piece together this timeline, I feel it’s pertinent that we tread lightly.”

Both women nodded, Waverly seemed particularly ashamed and so Nicole reached over to squeeze her hand, “Hey, baby, you didn’t know.”

“Should one of us go check on her?” Waverly asked.

“I’ll go,” the doctor stood up, “in the meantime Miss Earp, why don’t you catch your girlfriend up on Wakanda and the Sokovian Accords?”

As he exited the station, Waverly turned to Nicole and whispered, “How do you not know about this stuff?”

“Because I was too busy chasing girls and playing sports in school to pay attention in history class.”

Waverly rolled her eyes, “Ok so you know that there were six original Avengers, right?” Nicole nodded.

“And that they worked with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division to neutralize active and potential threats?”

“The what?”

“SHIELD.”

“Ok, yes, I’ve heard of them.”

“Alright, so Captain America and the Black Widow figured out that SHIELD had been infiltrated by HYDRA-”

“Who’s HYDRA?”

“The bad guys.”

“Sounds about right.”

“So they learned that HYDRA, under SHIELD, had been doing human experimentations using a magical stone from outer space.”

“Definitely feel like I would have remembered this from history class.”

“Well you know how it is in school, they tell you every year that they are gonna take you through history all the way up to modern times but you never really make it past the 1950s.”

“This is true.”

“Well when they found the stone, they also found the twins, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff who had received enhanced powers through the magic stone. The twins had a vendetta against Iron Man because his company had made the weapons that killed their parents. Anyways, the Avengers took the stone, then Iron Man accidentally made this evil robot named Ultron who teamed up with the Maximoffs to destroy the Avengers.”

“This is insane, how has no one made a movie about this?”

“They have! But you never want to watch historical documentaries with me!”

“Well I didn’t know they made them about cool stuff!”

“Ugh, so anyways, the Maximoffs ended up finding out that Ultron wanted to destroy the whole planet, not just the Avengers, so they switched sides to take him down. Pietro died during the battle but Wanda survived and joined the Avengers.”

“Dang, her brother died too?”

“Yeah I know, it’s pretty messed up. She was only with the Avengers for a short period of time which is probably why you haven't heard of her. They were on a mission in Lagos and she tried to stop a bomb with her magic but ended up accidentally killing innocent people with it. That prompted the UN to question whether the Avengers should be allowed to continue to operate independently. The Sokovian Accords were meant to put them under the control of the UN but not all the Avengers wanted to sign it. If I remember correctly, the Black Widow supported the Accords but Captain America and some others didn't, including Wanda.”

“That must have been awkward.”

“Yeah, so a lot of other stuff happened but basically the team ended up fighting each other and Wanda and the rest of the anti-Accords group ended up in some kind of super prison, except for Captain America who they believe broke in the prison later and got them all out. At some point, the Black Widow was accused of violating the Accords as well and she went into hiding, apparently with Wanda, and they were there a few years. That is until Thanos-”

“-oh! I’ve heard of him too-”

“-yeah, so Thanos wanted to wipe out half of all life in the universe using six magic stones. He showed up in Wakanda to get the last one and there was this big battle, pretty sure Scarlet Witch and Black Widow were both part of it, but they lost and he succeeded. Five years later, the remaining Avengers figured out how to travel back in time and get the stones before Thanos so they could use them to bring everyone back, but along the way Black Widow had to sacrifice herself for them to obtain one of the stones.”

“Damn,” Nicole ran her hands through her hair. This woman's backstory was beyond heartbreaking. To top it off, they had no clue where her daughter was or if she was even still alive. _But she could be._ The little voice in her head nagged, and she took a deep breath, trying to exhale the ridiculous thoughts along with it. Nicole needed to focus on figuring out where Wanda Maximoff's real daughter was so that she could bring the woman some comfort or closure.

\----------------------------------

Fifteen minutes later, neither Dr. Strange nor Wanda had returned. Nicole and Waverly were just about to head outside and look for them when Waverly remembered the card she had been given the night before.

She pulled out her phone and dialed the number, surprised at how quickly the wizard answered.

“Miss Earp, it seems we have a bit of an issue. Wanda has gone missing, even the Cloak of Levitation can’t find her. It is vital that we locate her immediately, without the cloak she could easily fall back into another power-induced coma.”

Waverly switched the phone to speaker mode before continuing the conversation, “I don’t get it, what does the cloak have to do with any of this? I mean it doesn’t even go with her outfit if I’m being honest-”

“Never mind that right now, we need to start a sweep of the Triangle. I can’t locate her anywhere within town so my best guess is she either went back to the Earp home or the house that she and Romanov shared when they lived here.”

“Ok,” Nicole spoke up, “we can send Wynonna to the homestead to check there, where is the other house?”

“That is part of the problem, I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“It doesn’t have an address and I’ve never visited the site personally.”

“Well that still helps,” Waverly offered, “I mean how many houses could there be in those woods without add-“ she stopped at the look Nicole gave her, “Yeah, you’re right, this is a problem.”

“Dr. Strange, please come back to the station, I have a map of known unlisted dwellings in the area, we can split them up and start there.”

“Will do Sherriff.” With that the call ended and Nicole ran into an adjacent room and started rifling through a file cabinet.

“I’ll call Wynonna.” Waverly called out as she picked up her phone off the table to dial the number but dropped it in surprise as a golden circle appeared just a few feet away and Dr. Strange stepped through it.

“Fudge nuggets!” The brunette yelled, reaching down to inspect her phone.

“My apologies Miss Earp.”

“No, it’s fine, just wasn’t expecting it.”

“Waverly! You ok?” Nicole came in the room and stopped in her tracks when she saw Dr. Strange before quickly shaking her head and continuing on her mission. She laid out several crude maps across the table. Waverly picked up her (thankfully not cracked) phone and called Wynonna, stepping into the other room so she could hear better.

“Can Wanda make those little portals like you or does she need to travel by normal means?”

“She hasn’t worked out travelling via portal that I’m aware of. Her powers give her the ability to fly, sort of, so we can’t rule that out.”

“Ok well there are 20 something unlisted cabins within 10 miles of town. We’ll start with the closest ones and work our way out. Can you portal to these locations?” She gestured at maps.

“Not without being there previously, I’m afraid not.”

“Ok then we’ll split up. Let me get you a list, we can get Wynonna and Doc searching too.”

While Nicole began writing down different coordinates, Dr. Strange paced impatiently, the most rattled she had seen him since arriving in Purgatory.

“What did you mean when you said that she could fall back into a coma, does that cloak keep her conscious or something?”

“Not exactly. There is a sore on her neck that refuses to heal. When she gets anxious she scratches at it. Her last coma was induced by severe emotional pain and we had a close call when she first came back and subconsciously began causing herself physical pain by messing with that spot. I don’t believe it’s intentional but my cloak protects her from doing it again. If she goes under fully, I don’t know if my powers can bring her back. The last time was…difficult.”

“Got it, find her fast, don’t let her scratch her neck.” As she spoke, Waverly re-entered the room.

“Wynonna says she isn’t at the homestead. They are heading to town, looking out for her on the way here.”

“Ok,” Nicole tore off a piece of the paper she had been writing on and handed it to Dr. Strange. Here are the coordinates for eight of the cabins. You can take the maps too if you need them. Our team will divide up the other ones.

Dr. Strange nodded and turned on his heel to leave while Waverly and Nicole put on their coats and prepared to go on a witch hunt.

\----------------------------------

It was the sixth location on their list. Waverly was hypothesizing how/why Wanda’s powers would put her into a coma as a pain response when they saw her.

Sitting on a sketchy looking front porch swing, rocking softly back and forth was Wanda Maximoff. As they pulled up in front of the house, she made no move to indicate she was even aware of their presence.

The house had once been nice, even cozy perhaps, but time and the elements had taken a hard toll. The main structure was brick and mostly just showed signs of major cosmetic damage but there were several wooden additions which hadn’t fared so well. A few hundred yards away there was a fence line and a part of what could have been a barn or shed of some type.

Nicole tried to shake off how familiar it all felt, chalking it up to the fact that there were many structures like this around here and she had visited most of them.

When they came to a stop, Waverly made to get out of the car but Nicole laid a hand on hers.

“Stay here, I’m going to go try and talk to her.” Nicole stated, but she locked eyes with her girlfriend and waited for her to nod before opening the car door.

“I’ll call Strange and Wynonna and let them know. Be careful Nicole.” Waverly called.

She looked back at her girlfriend and nodded, sparing her a reassuring smile, before shutting the door and making her way slowly towards the house. When she reached the porch, her focus was mainly on watching her steps, the boards didn’t seem trustworthy at all. Upon finally reaching the swing, Wanda still hadn’t looked up or acknowledged the red-head in any way.

Nicole looked over at the police cruiser where Waverly sat in the passenger seat talking on the phone, her eyes locked on her girlfriend. Satisfied that Waverly was still relatively safe, she turned her attention back to the Maximoff woman.

“Mind if I sit down?”

Wanda finally looked up, showing neither surprise nor relief at finding Nicole standing in front of her. She shook her head and so Nicole took a seat. The swing creaked and popped under the added weight and she chanced a look up to where it was bolted into the ceiling, idly marveling at the craftsmanship.

“This swing was Natasha’s gift to me for our one year anniversary.”

Nicole blinked at the woman next to her, wondering if the witch had just read her mind. Wanda continued without acknowledging the unspoken question.

“Once we were settled here, she became obsessed with fixing the place up, was constantly tearing up one room or another, building additions. Drove me crazy, always having to make sure you didn’t wander into a room with fresh paint or grab a loose nail.

Then one day I was reading a book about this woman who had horses and all the work that went into maintaining a barn. So I got an idea,” she laughed, it was soft, just a joyful exhale, but it was the first time Nicole had seen Wanda smile, “I started dropping hints to Nat about how much you would love a pony and how it seemed like such a waste to have all this land and not be using it. I swear I didn’t even consciously use my powers, but it was as if I had. Next thing I knew she was putting together plans to build a barn and a fence and...oh, I was so excited to have my house back. Her goal was to have it all done by your third birthday and she was going to find you a pony and get horses for both of us as well, and she was going to teach us how to ride. You know, I’ve never ridden a horse, she never finished, obviously.”

Nicole bit her lip, she wanted to correct Wanda, _she_ had never been a part of that story, but it felt like the woman was finally opening up, and pointing out the mistake would only shut her down again. So instead she attempted a roundabout approach.

“When’s the last time you were here?”

Wanda was quiet long enough that Nicole almost thought she hadn’t heard her. Finally she spoke, her voice low and broken sounding.

“We were friends with them, Katherine and William.” Nicole gasped and her blood froze in her veins at her parent’s names.

“Will worked with Natasha briefly, they didn’t live too far away. They adored you, wanted kids of their own but couldn’t conceive. I thought you would be safe with them until Natasha and I made it back.”

Nicole’s mind was racing. Her parents had lived in Purgatory, briefly, but they were nomads, constantly on the move. If she put the timeline together, it would fit. The possibility that this woman was actually her mother was becoming sharper, more real. She stood up, suddenly needing to put some distance between her and Wanda.

“Nicole, please!”

Shocked by the sudden outburst, she turned around to fresh tears in Wanda’s eyes, her lower lip trembling, “Had I known what was going to happen I swear I would have made Natasha come back home, back to the protection of the triangle, I would have used my powers if necessary. I would have done anything to make sure you had a family. I thought…I thought that’s what I was doing at the time I swear!”

“But...” Nicole didn’t realize she was crying as well until she opened her mouth and her words came out strained and hoarse, “she survived, Natasha, she could have come back.”

She wasn’t sure why she was suddenly allowing herself to believe this was all true. Logically there were still gaps, holes in the plot, so many ways to explain away this connection. But emotionally, she felt betrayed and hurt. She felt rejected by this woman she had only known for less than 24 hours.

“Oh baby, she didn’t know,” Wanda stood up, closed the distance between them and took Nicole’s hands in hers, “our friends came looking for you, to see if you survived, they didn’t know that the Ghost River Triangle was safe from the Snap, didn’t think anywhere was. They came back and Kat and Will’s house was empty, there were plates out on the table, your toys still scattered on the living room floor, they thought you were all gone.

Natasha didn’t find out you were alive until right before they used the Pym particles to get the stones back. Clint said she wanted to bring you back to the compound, but he convinced her to return you to Kat and Will just in case things went wrong.”

Nicole opened her mouth to ask why Wanda did not come for her when she was brought back but she already knew the answer. Dr. Strange had already told her and Waverly back at the station what happened. 

There were so many questions swarming her mind, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to voice any of them. This felt too real, she wanted to fight it, wanted to protect herself against believing any of it but the way Wanda was looking at her was taking down every wall she was holding up. Her emotions at feeling so unloved by her family, so alone were bubbling to the surface, stretching out towards this woman who held her hands protectively, who looked at her with such tenderness and _love_.

So for once in her life, Nicole ignored logic, ignored the voices screaming that she was never meant to have a family. She listened to her instincts and did the one thing she somehow knew would help ground her. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Wanda Maximoff, dropped her head to the other woman’s shoulder and bawled like a child.


	7. Chapter 7

“I still say it was a dick move Romanov.” Clint proclaimed two weeks later, standing in Natasha’s kitchen, pouring himself a drink. “You really don’t have any vodka?”

“Sorry, finished it off yesterday.” She would need to go to the store soon. Sober didn’t suit her personality these days.

Wanda had made no attempts to hide her contempt for Natasha since the night the elder Avenger had ordered her out of the apartment. Apart from mandatory meetings, the two had not spent any extended time in the same room. Not that Natasha left her quarters often these days. Whenever she did, if she came across Wanda, the Scarlet Witch would make a point of exiting the area. When she absolutely had to address Nat, namely when they were in team meetings, she did so with an impressive vile to her tone. She was acting like a petulant child and Natasha took great care not to let the young woman see how much it affected her.

At this point everyone knew something was up between the two women, and doubtless there were a host of rumors flying around, but no one knew the truth except Clint and perhaps Vision if Wanda had decided to confide in him, a thought that, admittedly, didn’t sit well with Nat at all.

“Still,” Clint continued. _My God is he still on this?_ “you didn’t change again.”

Nat snorted, “She could have shown up in nothing but her red cloak and I still wouldn’t have changed. The demon in me was too exhausted to come out.”

Clint chuckled, probably at the thought of Nat’s reaction if Wanda had indeed shown up in such a state.

“And if she had,” he returned to the couch, “would you still doubt what she said?”

“Clint, she’s 18-”

“-20-” He corrected.

“-and this isn’t some high school fling where, worst case scenario, I don’t call her back and she sleeps with my friends to get back at me.”

“Wait a second, am I one of the friends in this scenario?”

“Shut up, I’m serious. I let us go down this path and we risk her safety, her already fragile sanity, my stability, and the team’s stability.”

“Not to mention breaking the heart of the tin man.” Clint said, referring to Vision.

Natasha bit her lip and shot him a dangerous look.

“You know, it’s a little adorable how jealous you are of him.”

“I’m not jealous.” She lied. Of course she was jealous. Vision had complete and absolute control over himself. He already shared a connection to Wanda through that stupid stone and he could literally phase into whatever form he wanted. Hell, he could probably make himself a woman if that was what Wanda really desired. If Nat had that sort of freedom and opportunity…well, it was best not to let her mind go down that path while Clint was here. She would save those thoughts for later.

“Just out of curiosity, if things were different, if we lived in another reality without monsters and magic, would you consider being with her then?”

“That’s so obviously leading Barton. There’s no point in questioning such things, this reality is all we have and to wish things were different is just asking for trouble.” Still, her thoughts drifted back to that day at the mall, Wanda’s face lighting up as she and Nat enjoyed something so simple and normal together.

“So yes.” Clint knew her too well.

“Yes.” Natasha whispered, and took a sip of her whiskey

\-------------------------------------

Nat’s foot connected with her target’s jaw. This was just what she needed. She was tired of pummeling sandbags and stopping just as she got worked up during a sparring session with one of the boys. Finally, after a month of trying to drown her frustrations and having her heart break a little more each time she saw Wanda, they had a mission that supplied all the live targets she could possibly want.

Some idiot pointed a gun at her and she grabbed it, pulling him into her. She imagined it was Vision as she kneed him in the goods and took his weapon as he dropped to the ground. Her temporary high was interrupted by the voice she fantasized about every night sounding in her ear.

“East side of the building is secure.” Even the girl’s clipped, accented statement made Nat melt a little, enough to make her almost miss her next opening with her new sparring partner, almost. 

She had hoped Steve would leave Wanda at home, the more distance Natasha could put between them, the better. But he had been insistent, telling Nat that whatever was going on between them, they should either work it out or get over it. He wasn’t wrong, and it’s the same advice she would have given, but that didn’t stop the Black Widow from being annoyed with the whole situation. At least Vision wasn’t with them. He was busy handling cyber-level threats and deemed more useful back at the facility than on the field. So, Nat was spared having to watch him and Wanda together.

Natasha whipped around, looking for her next target, and instead saw nothing but immobile bodies. She pressed her finger to the earpiece, “North side, clear.”

Steve spoke up, “Nat, hostages on the sixth floor. Get a boost from Wanda.”

 _Fuck you, Steve._ She made a mental note to not hear his first yield or two the next time they got in the ring together.

She jogged around the massive building, keeping her eyes and ears open. As she rounded the corner the woman that haunted her dreams and fantasies came into view. Wanda had her shield up, her back to the building, protecting it from any members of the terrorist group that might come to provide backup. She was currently only blocking a stray pigeon or two but Nat imagined that she was being extra cautious, determined not to mess up her first real mission.

Upon her arrival, Wanda retracted her shield and busied herself looking up at the building above while Nat attempted to focus on anything but how nice she looked in her scarlet corset. She raised her hands and those beautiful fingers worked their magic. Natasha was entranced watching them, so much so that she failed to notice the ball of broken glass encased in Wanda’s powers that came crashing down right next to her.

The young Avenger mumbled an insincere apology when Nat shot her a look in response. The Black Widow then looked up to find the window Wanda had just opened up for her. Spotting it, she knelt down on one knee and braced.

“Ready when you are.”

She felt herself lifted off the ground, firmly supported by the pinkish-red mist. Natasha forced herself to relax, it had been a while since they had practiced this move, before everything went to hell between them. But as angry as the witch was, Nat knew she wouldn’t intentionally drop her from six stories.

A loud bang ripped through the air out of nowhere, crashing into her thoughts. Before she could turn her head to find the source, the base beneath Natasha disappeared and she fell straight into a small tree. As she grabbed for branches in an attempt to break her fall a scream rang out, rocking the Widow to her core before she felt her body finally collide with the hard ground. _Wanda._

Natasha shot up, ignoring all the parts of her body groaning from the impact. She spotted Wanda immediately, still screaming, on the ground grabbing at her left thigh. Nat ate up the ground quickly and slid to a stop next to Wanda just in time to draw her gun and take out the two men advancing on them. Satisfied that there were no more immediate threats, she crouched down next to the younger woman, whose blood was gushing from her leg at a truly alarming rate.

“What’s going on?!” Sam shouted in her ear, the background wind indicating that he was still airborne.

“Wanda’s down, I need an evac.” Natasha responded as loudly as she could over Wanda’s panicked screams while she moved to quickly remove her tactical belt, allowing most of her precious weapons to fall to the ground.

“We have our hands full.” Steve grunted, clearly busy. “You’ll need to get her out yourself Nat.”

“On it.”

Wanda’s eyes were wide with fear, they connected with Natasha’s and everything over the last month instantly dissolved. Nat choked back a lump in her throat. Dread clutched at her heart. Sure, Wanda drove her crazy but damnit she would take a lifetime of crazy over losing her. 

“Hey, little witch, listen to me.” She instinctively cradled the younger woman’s jaw gently but firmly, making sure she had the girl’s full attention, “You are going to be ok, I am going to get you out of here, you understand?”

Wanda nodded, looking at Natasha like a savior, and instantly trusting her like one. The look did something to Nat, made her heart swell while simultaneously settling a heavy sense of responsibility in her hands. Wanda trusted her and she would not let her down.

“We need to try and slow down the bleeding ok,” her hands worked as she spoke, all too aware of how vital each second was, “I’m going to use this to try and reduce the blood flow.” Before the witch could respond she tightened the belt as hard as she could just a couple of inches above the bullet hole. Wanda whimpered and grabbed at Nat’s shoulder as she secured the buckle.

When she was done, Natasha turned her attention back to Wanda’s face which had paled significantly.

“Wanda!” she yelled. Green eyes found her own and Natasha utilized every bit of willpower she had to remain focused. She grabbed the both of the witch’s hands and placed them over the wound. “I’m going to carry you ok? I know it hurts baby but I need you to try and put pressure right here, as much as you can alright?”

The sound of gunfire made Natasha turn around on instinct. She quickly took out the source, dropping three figures from a distance. When she turned her attention back to Wanda, the young woman was trembling and whimpering quietly but pushing against her inner thigh the best she could considering the angle and her weakened state. They needed to get out of there now.

Natasha scooped up the young witch bridal style, she was surprisingly light despite having an inch or two on the redhead. Wanda buried her head into Nat’s neck and the assassin thought for a moment that the emotions coursing through her body would actually cause her heart to physically explode. Instead, her legs moved on their own accord and began to carry her and Wanda through the maze Nat had intricately memorized before the mission.

After a couple of minutes with no incident, Natasha thought they might actually be out of danger. She made the mistake of turning around to assess their distance from the building and therefore their proximity to the quinjet. That’s when she saw it.

A helicopter, flying way too low to be following any sort of military or government orders was heading straight for them, bad guys with guns hanging out of either side. In moments they would be in easy firing range.

The Black Widow assessed her options, they were in the middle of a wide and long corridor. She didn’t have time to make it into any of the buildings or to the end of the street. She couldn’t risk putting Wanda down to fight back and even if she could, most of her weapons were gone. So she did the only thing she could think to do.

Nat crouched to the ground and pulled the little witch in close, covering as much of the younger woman’s body with hers as possible. She didn’t know if her teammate had seen the chopper, but their faces were now close enough that Nat could feel the young girl’s tears. Ready to accept her fate, Natasha pressed her forehead to Wanda’s, breathing in the earthy scent that seemed to cling to the brunette before she met Wanda’s slightly parted lips with her own as gunfire rang out around them.

Collisions, blasts, but still Natasha braced for impact. Perhaps it had already happened, killed her so quickly she skipped the pain altogether. Dying had been easier than she thought. She could still feel Wanda’s lips against her own, could still smell the younger Avenger’s shampoo and sweat and damn she never thought she would be worthy of any heaven but perhaps she was wrong.

A squeak from Wanda caused her eyes to snap open and Natasha pulled back. The witch’s eyes were bright red, her lips still parted. They were in a pink dome that was being battered relentlessly. Nat had just assumed Wanda wouldn’t be able to use her powers to shield them, not with the blood loss making her weak and the pain making it impossible to focus. Indeed, she was struggling, her face contorted in pain now that she didn’t have Natasha distracting her anymore. They didn’t have long.

“Can you hold it?” she shouted.

“Just go!” Wanda growled back and that was all she needed.

Natasha lifted her companion and set off again with renewed strength. She was within feet of entering a building when a loud explosion overhead made her pause and look up.

She had never been so happy to see Tony Stark in his Iron Man suit. Pieces of the chopper were still falling in flames around them. He turned mid-air, saluted Natasha, and took off towards where Steve and the rest of the team were still trying to free the hostages. Nat nodded, then took off towards the quinjet which lay right beyond the tree line in the distance.

\-------------------------------------

“Tasha. Hey, Nat, wake up.”

“Wanda!” the assassin screamed, bolting upright in a panic. But the witch was right where she had been for the past 24 hours, unconscious, laid out on the hospital bed next to the couch Natasha had made into her nest.

Breathing hard, Nat turned towards the source of the voice. Clint stood at the foot of the bed, hands up. He was dressed casually, as opposed to Natasha who still wore her suit, covered in soot, dust, and dried blood.

The mission had technically been a success. Hostages saved, terrorist group tracked down, leader arrested, and no civilian casualties. The rest of the team had returned, and once Wanda was out of surgery successfully, they quietly celebrated. But not Natasha. She hadn’t left the witch’s side even though Steve, Tony, Maria, and pretty much everyone else had assured her that Wanda would not only live, but wouldn’t miss the Black Widow for a couple of hours if she left to change and shower. Even though she believed them, Nat wouldn’t let herself walk away, not until Wanda woke up.

“What are you doing here?” she asked before realizing it was probably Monday and Clint had been scheduled to come in.

“I heard you were having a campout in the med bay and came to ask why I wasn’t invited.” He sat down on the couch and Nat couldn’t help but notice his nose wrinkle. Perhaps she should have considered a shower.

“How is she?” he nodded towards the bed.

“Stable. Surgery went well, she even has a good chance of regaining full leg function again. We were lucky.”

“ _We_ as in the team or _we_ as in you and her?”

Nat chose not to humor him with an answer. After a beat, Clint continued.

“I heard you carried her out.”

“I was the closest to her when she got hit.”

“I heard she shielded you even with a bullet in her leg.”

“She was shielding both of us.”

“I heard you haven’t left her side since then.”

“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear.”

“But I believe you care about her.”

Natasha opened her mouth to deny it but the words wouldn’t come out. She was so tired, physically and emotionally. She was tired of fighting, fighting with Clint, fighting with Wanda, fighting with herself over this. Maybe her will would have been stronger if she hadn’t spent the last day curled up on a small couch focused intently on the young woman before her, monitoring for any small change, anything that might signal things taking a turn for the worst. Ever since Wanda was shot, all the energy she had, had been fueled towards the girl’s survival, there was nothing leftover to fight Clint with.

“I don’t know what my feelings are for her.” She answered honestly, and then, like a dam breaking, the words just started tumbling out, “There was a moment in the field when I thought we weren’t going to make it. We were being pursued and I couldn’t get us to safety in time. As they closed in on us, I accepted my fate.”

For once, the witty Hawkeye was silent, which only helped the damned flow of words continue.

“And then I kissed her, because fuck why not, and even though I was sure that was it for me, I was ok. The world became small and simple. At that moment I was content and I just keep replaying it over and over in my head trying to figure it out. I don’t even know if I _like_ her, Clint. I’ve been fucking lusting after her like a stupid teenage boy for a month now but the closest I’ve ever come to getting to know her was that day at the mall and I can’t trust that because I wasn’t me, not completely. Then this shit happens and out of nowhere I’m doing things to lead her on even further and I don’t know if my actions belong to me or the monster inside of me or both and she’s gonna wake up and if I don’t leave the Avengers entirely then we will eventually have to discuss it and I don’t know what to tell her.”

Her chest heaved, Nat was out of breath and she realized that this was the first time she had spoken at such length about her feelings to anyone, even Clint. He sat there uncharacteristically silent with a serious expression on his face. Absurdly, she wondered if this was his demeanor when he had 'talks' with his wife or kids. When he finally did speak, it was to ask the dumbest conceivable question.

“Nat, did you change at any point before or after Wanda was shot.”

“Of course not, I wouldn’t be conscious right now if that had happened.”

“Then why do you still attribute your feelings towards her to that part of you?”

“Because I didn’t have those feelings before it took over, or I don’t think I did...I don’t know.”

“Plenty of people don’t fall for someone upon first sight.” She noticed he avoided the ‘L’ word, smart man. “Some of the best relationships happen organically.”

“This isn’t organic.”

“Isn’t it?”

“I have no way of knowing if I would still feel this way about her otherwise. If this thing inside of me hadn’t pushed me to start thinking about her in that way, who is to say our relationship would be anything but platonic?”

“But that isn’t the case. You are who you are Natasha. You, me, Wanda, we are all the culmination of various factors, some within our control, some beyond it. How those factors influence our feelings towards other people may be fun to sit with a therapist and sort through but it doesn’t change the feelings. Knowing that my mother being a brunette probably made me more attracted to them in some weird way doesn’t mean that it’s wrong for me to fall in love with, and marry one.”

“Your mother was a brunette?”

“Don’t stop me, I’m on a roll. What they did to you in the Red Room may be the only reason you developed an attraction to Wanda, but the fact that it’s still there even when you have full control means it’s real now and it’s going to stay real. She may never have met you if her parents and brother hadn’t died but does that make it wrong for her to know you and be attracted to…whatever it is she finds attractive about you? At the end of the day, regardless of what shaped this thing between you two, it exists and you are both consenting, somewhat sane adults so why the hell are you fighting it?”

There was a heavy pause before Natasha could find the right words which sat at the core of all her concerns, “Because she deserves better than me.”

Saying it out loud simultaneously felt like a weight being lifted and also made Natasha acutely aware of just how exhausted she was. She slumped over, letting her head rest on Clint’s shoulder. Without seeing his face, she could tell he smiled. “Yeah, and Laura deserves someone with the body of Thor, the personality of Steve, and the financial resources of Stark but look what she got stuck with.”

Nat snorted at that, not missing the meaning behind his words.

They sat in silence for a long time until Clint finally had to go after offering to stay with Wanda while Natasha took a break. She waved him away, determined more than ever to be there when the little which finally woke up.


	8. Chapter 8

For the second time in less than 24 hours, Nicole allowed herself to lose track of time while she held Wanda Maximoff. Last time she had been desperately trying to hold the other woman together, this time it was she who felt that every emotion would literally explode from her if she didn’t maintain her grip on Wanda... _my mother._

This was family, this had been her home. How many times had she played on this porch under the watchful gazes of her moms sipping coffee while they rocked gently back and forth, completely unaware that they were living on borrowed time, a brief interlude in a long and tragic narrative.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ring of a cell phone, causing them to part and seek out the source.

Waverly was standing a few yards from the porch, frantically trying to press the decline button. After finally locating it, she sheepishly looked up at the pair.

“Sorry! Wynonna needs us and so I came to get you guys and then you hugged and I wasn’t sure if I should go back to the car or wait-”

“Waves, it’s ok.” she turned back to Wanda, “would you like a lift back?”

A small smile broke out across her face before she answered, “That would be nice, thank you.”

Wanda walked ahead to the cruiser, leaving the two girls enough space for Waverly to silently search her girlfriend’s eyes for an explanation. Nicole locked eyes with her beautiful girl and planted a chaste kiss on her lips before smiling and answering, “I believe her Waves, she’s my mom.”

As soon as they were in the cruiser, Waverly leaned through the small sliding door in the partition and began babbling excitedly.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you! I mean...I know I already _met_ you but now I get to really meet you, as Nicole’s mom. You see, I’m Nicole’s-”

“-girlfriend?” Nicole raised an eyebrow at Wanda who was actually smirking at Waverly from the front seat. “I gathered. You two aren’t that subtle.”

“Sorry.” Waverly mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

“Don’t be,” Wanda replied, then turned to Nicole, “Natasha would be so proud to see the young woman you’ve become. You’re just like her, well, except for the height, and your eyes…”

“Well, it’s not like I could have inherited her genetics anyways, assuming it was your egg, right?”

Wanda sucked in a big breath and her eyes dropped to her lap, “Yes, but-”

Once again the shrill ring of Waverly’s phone pierced the moment.

“Crap! I forgot about Wynonna!” she answered the phone while Wanda visibly relaxed in the passenger sheet.

“Yeah, we have her...I don’t know, I’ll ask. Hey,” Waverly’s head popped through the divider once again, “is it ok if your mom chaperone’s this field trip Nicole, Wynonna says we need her.”

Nicole looked at Wanda, “you ok with helping us take down a few demons before we bring you back?”

“Well, it’s the least I can do I suppose.” she responded, and smiled shyly.

“The Scarlet Witch is in!” Waverly yelled into the phone, “It’s Wanda’s superhero name, how have you people never heard of her? You know what, nevermind, just drop a pin and send it to me.” With that, she hung up. “Ok, here’s the tea, Wynonna and Doc were checking one of the cabins and they found a monster/demon hanging out in one of them.”

“So what? Is Peacemaker having an off-day?”

“Peacemaker won’t light up. Doc is out of bullets, it has them trapped in the attic.”

“Peacemaker?” Wanda looked back and forth between Nicole and Waverly, obviously confused.

“Wynonna’s demon-killing gun.”

“And Wynonna is…?”

“My sister, the crazy chick from yesterday.”

“Ok, and those things chasing you, they were demons?”

“Sorta, yeah, we call them Revenants.”

Nicole chimed in, “Wynonna’s ancestor killed them, their family is cursed with the task of re-killing them every generation.”

“Doesn’t sound like he did a good job of killing them then.”

“Wynonna will, if she gets all of them with Peacemaker, the curse ends.” Waverly said with an abundance of confidence.

“But this thing that has them trapped, it isn’t a Revenant?”

“No, we had a little incident a while ago, my older sister who was the original heir came back from the dead then betrayed us and tried to release the Revenants from the Ghost River Triangle and Wynonna stopped her but not before she released a bunch of other demons into the Triangle.”

“Ah, well, for the record Nikki, your mother and I didn’t know about that when we chose to try and raise you here.”

Nicole laughed, “It’s ok, there are some really good things about this place.” she locked eyes with Waverly in the rearview mirror and smiled.

Waverly returned the smile and blushed, before suddenly going wide-eyed, “Oh, take this left!”

The tires screeched as Nicole turned the vehicle at the last second.

“Alright, let’s focus,” Nicole sped up as she straightened out, “if Peacemaker can’t touch it then how do we kill it?”

“That’s probably why she wanted you to come.” Waverly said to Wanda, “I mean your powers easily tossed those Revenants around yesterday. She probably figures that even if you can’t kill it you could at least restrain it until we can work out a solution. But, let’s face it, you can probably kill it,” she turned to Nicole, “you know she almost took out Thanos all on her own?! No one else even came close-”

“-I’ll do everything I can to help your friends.” Wanda interrupted calmly.

“Thank you.” Nicole said quietly and they exchanged a smile before Waverly took over directing her to their location.

Minutes later they rolled up to the abandoned cabin. It was a severely dilapidated structure with multiple levels. Nicole didn’t like the idea of Waverly going in there, but she knew better than to ask her girlfriend to stay behind, especially with Wynonna’s life in danger.

Nicole unholstered her weapon as they exited the vehicle and heard the trunk open and close before Waverly appeared at her side pumping a shotgun.

“Wanda, when we find the demon, you focus on restraining it, then killing it if possible. Waverly and I will cover you.”

She nodded, clearly comfortable letting someone else take the lead.

They entered the cabin cautiously, listening for any sign of life. Slowly they swept the first floor, seeing and hearing nothing.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Nicole whispered to Waverly.

“It’s where the pin was dropped. She said they were trapped in the attic.”

“Ok, let’s head to the second floor, just watch your step.”

Both Wanda and Waverly nodded and the group began their ascent with Nicole in the lead. The second story produced similar results. After exchanging a look with her girlfriend, Waverly hesitantly called out, “Wynonna!?”

Nicole held her firearm at the ready and Wanda’s hands glowed with her scarlet energy but no threat came except for a dull _thunk_ somewhere overhead.

It didn’t take them long to find more stairs behind a door. When they reached the top there was a landing and a single closed door. Waverly called out again and was answered with a louder _thunk_ from the other side of the door. Nicole nodded at the other two women, then cracked open the door, gun first.

Instantly, the door was jerked wide open from the other side and Nicole’s gun fired just as something grabbed her arm and she was hauled inside and across the room. Her body collided and subsequently shattered something made of rotted wood.

All she could hear was in-human shrieking and all she could see was red. Bright red waves pulsed throughout the room, momentarily blinding the officer before a second body was thrown on top of her.

She groaned from the second impact before grabbing for the body that had rolled off of her. Loud shots were now ringing in her ears which could only mean...

Nicole gasped in fear as she turned over Wanda who moaned in pain. There was no time to check the witch for injuries. The redhead jumped up, adrenaline coursing through her veins and called out for her girlfriend.

With every loud bang of the shotgun the dark room momentarily lit up. Waverly was roughly ten feet away, her back to them. Her shells were hitting their mark, a large humanoid creature with a huge, really loud mouth. It shrieked with every impact, the force keeping it in place but not taking it out.

Nicole frantically looked around and her eyes landed on an old fireplace poker. Her instincts screamed at her to grab it and charge the demon. _No, you’ll never beat it like that,_ a more rational voice, shaped by years of academy training cautioned. _You’re not strong enough, not fast enough. Protect Waverly, let Wanda take care of the threat._

She turned around and sure enough, Wanda was unsteady, but on her feet, eyes and hands bright red. Nicole ignored the unbearable urge to grab the poker and instead ran to Waverly, enveloping the smaller woman in her arms and pulling her to the side as the creature charged at them. The shotgun clattered to the floor and the room turned crimson once again.

They watched as Wanda surrounded the creature with her powers but it continued forward, unphased. Nicole looked on in horror as her mother was overtaken and her blood ran cold as her scream filled the tiny room.

Darkness surrounded them as Nicole pushed Waverly towards where she thought the door was, yelling at her to run even as her brain told her how futile that was. The redhead turned and sprinted in the direction Wanda had been standing only to feel blinding pain a moment later before her world went black.

\------------------------------------------------------

The first thing she was aware of was a sickening feeling in her stomach. She tried to shift herself into a more comfortable position, hoping to find relief. Instead, a sharp sting on her outer thigh made Nicole whimper, wishing she had taken a more thorough inventory before moving.

She opened her eyes and was greeted with the sight of her lap as well as the main source of her agony. Her left pants leg was ripped high above her knee. A dark stain covered the entire area. Between that, the low lighting, and her eyes’ refusal to fully focus, she couldn’t make out much more about the injury.

Something cold and wet slid down her forehead and seconds later, blood dripped down onto her lap. It took considerable effort, but she lifted her head to take in her environment.

The room was too dark for her to assess the size, but a soft, blueish light illuminated her immediate surroundings. To her left slumped four bodies: Doc, Wynonna, Waverly, and Wanda. They were bound like her, with their hands behind their backs, the ropes restraining them glowed blue. When Nicole twisted her head as far as she could to inspect them, she noticed that her hands were tied with plain ropes, unlike her companions. She didn’t have long to ruminate on that fact though as one by one, the group began to awaken in a chorus of groans.

“You know, when I invited you guys to join us, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.” Wynonna stated, her voice lacking its usual sarcastic lilt.

“Waverly? Wanda?” Nicole croaked.

“I’m ok,” Waverly moaned, sounding very much not ok, “just need a quick power nap.”

Nicole was fully awake now but everyone else seemed drained, barely able to lift their heads.

“If anyone has any prairie oysters, I would be much obliged if you would be so kind as to pass them around.” Doc groaned from beside Wynonna.”

“Prairie oysters?” Nicole asked.

“Raw eggs,” Waverly supplied, “old timey hangover cure.”

“Nikki?” Wanda whispered right beside her.

“I’m here,” she answered, “are you ok?”

“Mmmmm,” she responded unhelpfully, “I don’t remember drinking.”

Her head lolled to the right and landed on Nicole’s shoulder revealing a series of small gashes in the side of her neck. Nicole’s mind replayed the conversation she and Dr. Strange had before they left the station.

“Wanda?! Hey Wanda stay with us, ok?”

“I’m here.” she breathed.

“I know just, try not to fall into a magical coma, ok?”

“Speaking of magic, what the hell happened?” Wynonna piped up.

“I don’t know, I…” Wanda tried to lift her head but the blue rope behind her hummed to life, illuminating even brighter as she struggled briefly before giving up and collapsing back onto Nicole’s shoulder.

“...it didn’t work.” she breathed out, sounding utterly defeated.

“Are you kidding? We finally get some firepower on the team and then step right into a magical loophole?”

“Wynonna,” Waverly hushed her sister, clearly struggling for each word, “cut it out, she tried.”

“What...what are those things holding you guys?” Nicole asked, instinctively nodding at the blue ropes before realizing no one could bring their head up enough to see her.

“Whatever they are,” Doc answered, “it feels as though they are draining my very life, which should not be possible given my....current state.”

“Not our lives,” Wanda chimed in, “our power.”

The pieces clicked together all at once in Nicole’s mind. Doc was a vampire. Wynonna was the heir. Waverly was half-angel. Wanda was a witch. And she...well, she was nothing, powerless, mortal. Judging by the state her newfound mother was in compared to the rest of the group, the more powerful the captive, the more effective the tether became. Of course Nicole’s resembled a perfectly normal rope because that’s exactly what she was, perfectly, achingly normal, and utterly useless.

“Of course.” she whispered, only loud enough for maybe Wanda to hear.

Her pity party was cut short as a door swung open from the other side of the room. Heavy footsteps approached them and moments later a hideous, large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth came into view. Nicole realized that the demon had no discernable eyes, no nose, no ears. Just a large, terrifying mouth that was breathing heavily and slowly approaching her girlfriend.

“No!” she yelled and immediately rose to her knees, ignoring Wanda’s collapse behind her as well as the searing pain that lanced through her left leg.

Before she could get any further a large, clawed hand slapped her so hard that she fell back on her side. Without hesitation she squirmed to rise again. Waverly and Wynonna were screaming as a body was dragged across the floor. Right as Nicole made it to her feet and darted at the door with her hands still tied, it slammed and Waverly’s screams grew quieter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Warning***  
> This chapter contains a brief description of rape.

It was late Tuesday night when Wanda finally stirred. Nat was curled up on the sofa again, listening to the steady beeps of the heart monitor. The tempo increased slightly and before the redhead could make it to her feet, Wanda’s green eyes were open, scanning the room.

“Hey there.” Natasha whispered, leaning over the bed so the other woman wouldn’t have to turn her head to see her. “How are you feeling?”

“My head feels heavy.” Nat loved how Wanda’s accent came out in full force when she was at her most vulnerable.

“That’s the drugs, they gave you the good stuff.”

“Where am I?”

“Home.” Probably not the best answer, as she didn’t know if Wanda really considered the Avengers facility her true home. It was after all, such an abstract concept. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I remember you.” It felt like she was staring straight into Natasha’s soul. “I remember you saved my life.”

“More like you saved mine.”

“We will, how do you say…agree to disagree on that one.”

Natasha knew this was her window, she had been the one to push Wanda away, and then to make another move at the absolute best fucking time. This was where she was supposed to apologize like she had rehearsed, but once again, something about being face to face with Wanda made her forgetful. Luckily, her little witch was not content to wait.

“So do we now go back to avoiding each other?”

“No,” Natasha whispered, “this is the part where I put on my big girl undies and we discuss this like adults.”

Wanda smiled and holy fuck the things this girl did to her…

“I would like that, very much.” Those green eyes were distracting and Natasha lost herself again so she looked away. The seconds ticked by and it was clear Wanda would not save her again, so she just started with the first thing she could think to say, “You’ll have to forgive me, I’m uhhh, I’m pretty new to this whole bearing my soul thing.”

“Take your time, krasotka.” That made Nat smirk.

“Where did you learn that?”

“I know a little Russian.”

Almost on instinct Natasha took Wanda’s slender fingers in her hand and rubbed her thumb on the younger woman’s knuckles.

“There are so many things I don’t know about you little witch, but I want to learn.”

“You are the only one stopping you from learning.”

“Because I also have an overwhelming desire to keep you safe, even if it’s from me.”

“I do not fear you.”

“But you should, you don’t know the things I am capable of.”

“You know I can move things with my mind, right?”

Natasha laughed and it felt good.

“As you are already aware, I was trained in the Red Room to be a killer, but there are other things they did to me there…experiments.” She looked at Wanda shyly now, unsure how the girl was taking this information. Wanda just stared back at her calmly with those wide, kind eyes.

“The first time we met, when I looked into your head,” Nat could swear there was a hint of a blush on the young woman’s cheeks, “I saw your training, the torture, but there was one moment I did not quite understand.”

Natasha nodded, giving silent permission for Wanda to continue.

“You and another girl with long blonde hair were in a room, on the floor and you were on your knees behind her. You held her hips and…she was screaming but it was as if you could not hear her. You were staring at the wall and your eyes were dark, brown not green.”

Natasha squeezed Wanda’s hand and forced herself to breathe. She knew exactly the memory Wanda was describing. She remembered every second of it.

“Do you know what I was doing to her?” she didn’t want to look into Wanda’s eyes but forced herself to do so anyways.

“I can not be certain, but I have my suspicions.”

“The goal of the Red Room was to create super-assassins and, as you’ve learned, there was no limit to the methods they would use to reach that goal. One thing that was tried, was introducing DNA from predators…animals, into young trainees, usually the ones that were not keeping up in training because if things went wrong, well, it was no great loss.” _Fuck, this was getting hard,_ “I was 12, weak, failing tests. So my name ended up on the list for the experiments and I guess it was successful, at least in the sense that I didn’t die on the table.”

“Which animal?” Wanda asked, almost in a daze. Natasha had to think about it, she had never considered it relevant to be honest.

“Some kind of wolf I believe. Funny story,” she realized how ironic it was for her to say that right now, “I was surprised when I woke up, not just because I had survived but, because for some reason I thought I would have a tail.” Wanda smiled timidly, and it occurred to Nat that she had never shared that detail with Clint or anyone else.

“Anyways I went back to training and I started doing better but only because my body would just take over and my mind would be left behind. I became savage in my actions, unable to stop myself and my body would physically change, though, I still never got my tail.” For some reason, she felt the need to lighten the story, to make sure Wanda was comfortable hearing it.

“I became stronger, quicker, more agile, but the most alarming change was my…my genitals.” She blushed and suddenly found it difficult to continue. Rationally, she knew couldn’t escape the truth at this point. Wanda would either be disgusted and want nothing to do with her, a thought that made her heart drop but achieved the goal of keeping the young witch safe, or she would accept it with her trademark kindness and Nat could go forward with the knowledge that the young woman was fully aware of what she had to be protected from.

“Wanda, do you understand what I’m telling you?” it wasn’t meant to sound condescending. But Natasha wasn’t sure she was brave enough to go into much more detail and hoped Wanda would save her once again by putting the pieces together herself.

The young witch nodded, but her expression stayed blank, like she was in another world. Finally, after what could have been hours, she asked, “how long does it last?”

“It depends on what triggered it. Back when it was violence, I would only calm down and change back once I had been left alone for at least half a day or so. But lust, what brought it out that day in the dressing room, that’s more difficult. When I was in the Red Room they tried to use me to break a girl once, the girl you saw. She was about my age, really good and therefore valuable, but a bit of a rebel. I was attracted to her you could say and one day while we were sparring it just happened, I thought I was changing like I had the other times because it felt similar but instead of attacking her, I pushed her down and...they didn’t stop me.”

Natasha took a beat and examined the tile floor. She was finding it really hard to breathe. She was about ready to tell Wanda that this had all been a mistake when she felt slender fingers squeeze hers. Then a groan fell from Wanda’s lips.

The assassin’s eyes snapped up to see the little witch’s upper body fall onto the mattress and a grimace take over her beautiful features. Instantly she forgot her demons in favor of making sure the young woman was ok.

“Wanda, don’t try to get up.” She let her other hand rest on the girl’s cheek and was rewarded with a relaxed smile.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, not really sounding sorry at all, “I just wanted to hug you.”

“Thank you, I don’t really feel like I deserve your comfort though.”

“Nat,” she liked the way Wanda said her nickname, “you were just as much a victim as that girl was. You did not ask to be experimented on. You did not beg to be pulled apart and remade. If anyone in this room is undeserving of love and comfort, it is me. My brother and I volunteered to be experimented on to settle a vendetta and because of that he is now gone.”

“Wanda you were young.”

“So were you.”

“But you didn’t _rape_ anyone!” she didn’t mean to yell it, Wanda just had a way of making her lose her carefully constructed self-control. Instead of being angry, which she had every right to be, Wanda just ran her thumb over Natasha’s knuckles and whispered, “Neither did you. The Red Room raped that girl. It is ok if you do not believe this, but I know you Natasha, and you are no rapist.”

Natasha sighed, why did she suddenly feel like she was getting another lecture from Clint? There was no point in arguing though. She would let Wanda believe what she wanted, Natasha was capable of torturing herself just fine without recruiting help.

“Anyways, once I was…done, I suddenly felt in control of my body again, even though I hadn’t changed back and I wanted so desperately to hurt all of them for letting me do that to her, I wanted to take her away from that place and keep her safe, never let anyone else hurt her again. I killed four men before they took me down. When I woke up my body had changed back and she was gone.

Once I escaped the Red Room I tried to keep it under control. The violence I didn’t care so much about, not as much as I should have, but the sexual part, the thought of doing that to someone else, scared me. If I came across any woman at all that I felt an attraction to, I would seek out a prostitute and pay them double for three day’s worth of uhhhh…service, would make sure they understood what they were agreeing to.”

“I do not think I understand. You allowed yourself to be with other women, women that you paid but not with me.”

“That was before I knew I had other options. Those women were the lesser of all evils. Now, there is no reason for anyone to have to go through that again. I can be controlled.”

“Is it pointless for me to tell you that would not be necessary with me?”

Nat’s breath caught. Images of being able to make love to the little witch without restraint, without worry crossed her mind. She wanted to protect Wanda the same way she had wanted to protect that young girl all those years ago. But they were not heroines in a movie, they were two damaged women in the real world and things could not be wrapped up so nicely with a pretty bow.

“You know I have feelings for you little witch...”

“That is something I gathered.” Wanda smiled playfully and Natasha couldn’t help but smile back.

“Yes, well, despite everything that has happened, I am telling you right now that I want to give this a shot, assuming that’s still something you want as well.”

Wanda nodded, and that smile was there again. Oh yeah, Nat was screwed.

“But if we are gonna do this, I need you to be patient with me. This is all new territory and it’s full of landmines.”

“

I can try krasotka.” The term of endearment made Nat blush as a tingle travel through her body.

“Natasha?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you kiss me again?” The infamous Black Widow laughed loud and full with pure joy, then leaned down to place a soft kiss on her _girlfriend’s?_ forehead, nose, then lips.

“mmmm” the younger woman hummed as Nat pulled back, “I could get used to that.”

“Later little witch, right now I think some of the medical staff would like to see you.” She nodded towards the observation window where a team of three doctors in lab coats were standing nervously, pretending to be inspecting anything but what was going on beyond the window.

“What are they waiting for?” Wanda asked.

“Probably me. I may or may not have threatened one of the nursing staff earlier today and I imagine word got around about it.” It really wasn’t Nat’s fault that Tony couldn’t seem to hire competent people. “I’ll go, it’s probably time I got out of this suit and showered anyways.”

“Will you come back?”

“Of course little witch, it will probably be a couple more days before they let you out of here, can I bring you anything?”

“There’s a book by my bed and maybe some of my incense?” Natasha had a feeling there was some rule against burning incense in the med bay, but it’s not like anyone was gonna tell her anything, she smirked. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

\-------------------------------------------

Natasha stared at the mistletoe with intense suspicion. When she had gone to take a shower earlier, it hadn’t been there and she suspected a trap. She pressed her back to the wall in the hallway and tried to peer around the corner into the kitchen. Wanda was nowhere to be seen. She listened for the younger Avenger’s breathing, for the rustle of clothing…nothing.

Hesitantly, Nat moved forward, stepping slowly with her bare feet on the carpet and assessing her surroundings with every step. The sound of a magnet falling from the refrigerator caught her attention and that’s when Wanda attacked.

Appearing out of nowhere, the Maximoff girl embraced and kissed the slightly shorter women, pushing her up against the frame of the archway. Natasha melted into the kiss, parting Wanda’s lips with her tongue, grabbing a handful of ass to haul the other girl closer to her. Her free hand weaved its way through brunette locks and held her captor in place.

Finally breaking apart, Wanda flashed that sinful smile at Nat. “Did you like my trick with the magnet?”

“That was good, you’re getting much better.” She replied without releasing the younger woman.

They had been dating for four months and settling into the dual role of mentor and girlfriend had been surprisingly easy for Natasha. Wanda was eager to learn, to please. With the walls between them finally broken down her potential had really begun to show. The girl was easier on herself in her training and patient with Nat in their relationship.

There was an unspoken agreement between the two that making love could wait until Natasha was comfortable and felt like she had control over herself throughout the process. She thought she had been ready, a little less than a month ago. It had all started so innocently, Wanda was eating ice cream and watching her lick the spoon, her eyes closed, an expression of pure pleasure, and the noises she was making…that’s what really started it.

Natasha had moved in front of where Wanda was sitting on the counter, placing herself in between the witch’s dangling legs, taken the spoon and carton away and kissed her deeply, tasting the vanilla on her lips. The more they kissed, the more Nat had wanted to hear her make those noises again, only this time, for a very different reason. She had lifted her girlfriend up and walked them into the bedroom, setting Wanda down on the bed gently encouraging her to wrap a leg around Natasha’s waist.

This had been as far as they had ever gotten, with Natasha making the calls all along the way. She rocked her hips against Wanda’s searching for just the right angle and when she found it they both gasped against each other’s lips. Dry humping took the edge off, allowed them both some relief, but Nat wanted so much more. She guessed Wanda did too, based on the way the young woman was constantly ogling her and sneaking little touches here and there. But the girl never pushed, never tried to bring things any further, and for that Nat was simultaneously grateful and convinced more than ever that she didn’t deserve this absolute angel beneath her.

As she fell into a rhythm thrusting over and over against Wanda’s center, she looked down at her work. The witch was biting her lip, staring at her with wide eyes. Yeah, she wanted more too. But ever the saint, Wanda kept her hands flat on Natasha’s back and just received. Nat wanted to give her more, to help her chase a much better climax. More so, she wanted to feel Wanda, wanted to know what it was like to move her fingers inside of her, to taste her. Emboldened, Natasha reached down between their bodies and ran her fingers over the top of Wanda’s thin cotton shorts, exactly over the spot she wanted to touch the most.

Using her own body as leverage, she rubbed Wanda through the material and watched her eyes widen. Then the noises started again. Those noises filled Nat’s dreams and fantasies. It was truly incredible how powerful the Scarlet Witch was. With a flick of her fingers, she could wipe out entire armies, with a moan, she could completely undo a master spy and assassin, turning Nat into a slave of the witch’s innermost desires. She wanted to give this beautiful woman everything.

Natasha’s thrusts became more desperate, seeking friction against the back of her own hand while she toyed with Wanda, eliciting even more delicious sounds. The shorts became damp and Nat swore she could smell Wanda’s desire. It made her reckless. She caught her lover’s lips once again, wanting to draw more moisture from her body. _Damn,_ she bit lightly at Wanda’s lower lip as she thought about tasting her, about how wonderful it would feel directly on her fingers, how it would feel to be inside her…

And then Natasha was propelling herself backwards and into the bathroom closing and locking the door behind her. She frantically pulled open a drawer, found what she was looking for, and began the process of knocking herself out. She could hear Wanda through the door, calling for her, worried, but there was no reversing this process once it started and it had definitely started. The last thing she remembered was her cheek against the cool tile and the bathroom door being blasted open, encased in red.

That had been, at best, an uncomfortable discussion when she had awoken two days later. She knew Wanda hated the Black Widow drugging herself but it was the best she could do. Perhaps because she knew their relationship hindered on her acceptance of Natasha’s hesitancy, the witch had let it go after only an hour or two of argument.

Still there was reason to be hopeful. As she leaned back against the door frame enjoying having the brunette in her arms, Natasha thought about the progress they had made. The fact that she was able to achieve climax in Wanda’s presence was a good sign. She had learned to tame her beast in combat through conditioning, perhaps she could do the same with Wanda and one day she would be able to please the witch in every way she desired.

“Hey,” she whispered in Wanda’s ear, “we need to get going.”

It was Christmas Eve and they were having a small get together with Steve, Vision, Sam, Rhodey, Tony, Pepper, and Maria. Just dinner and a little gift exchange with, for some of them, the only family they had left.

Tony had told them all in advance that he would be making a donation of one million dollars in each of their names to the charity of their choosing. Natasha had expected it, as he had done that every Christmas since the group was formed but the announcement surprised the heck out of Wanda, especially when she was told that she would get to make two donations, one in her name and one in Pietro’s. Nat suspected it was Tony’s feeble attempt at seeking Wanda’s forgiveness which made her skin crawl a little but she kept her mouth shut.

Steve and Sam had cooked a lovely meal and as they ate, they took turns stating which charity they were choosing this year and why. Nat, Steve, and Maria chose the same ones as the previous years. Sam and Rhodey chose the VA and Wounded Warrior Project respectively. Vision divided his up among ten smaller regional charities throughout the country. Natasha assumed it had only taken him seconds to research thousands of annual reports and employ some sort of algorithm to pick which charities would receive the funds. It was pretty neat, except for the fact that that meant they all had to listen to him talk about each charity individually and in depth for exactly 23 minutes, according to Natasha’s watch. Wanda was the last to go.

Nat smiled as she stood up. Her girlfriend had spent pretty much all of her free time over the past two weeks doing research. At first she had considered putting it all towards the Sokovia Recovery Effort until Natasha gently reminded her that Tony’s Foundation was already funding that. She knew Wanda had made her decision last night, but wanted to keep it a secret.

Wanda cleared her throat and then timidly began to explain that she would be putting her funds towards a Sokovian based charity that focused on providing educational opportunities and private tutoring for low-income families and orphans in Sokovia. Her brother’s would go to an organization that was working to build a new public recreational center with free programs for kids in the area that was being rebuilt.

She then went on to talk about her brother, about how he had always been really athletic, even before SHIELD/Hydra became involved. She said he had talked about being a pro-soccer player when they were little. As she talked it occurred to Natasha that this was the most Wanda has spoken about Pietro since his death. At the end, Nat stood up next to her and proposed a toast to Pietro. Everyone joined in and gave Wanda a standing ovation. She threw her arms around Natasha who could feel a single tear fall to the base of her neck.

After dinner they settled around the tree in the common room. Natasha curled up into an armchair, Wanda sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her, leaning her head back against the Russian’s legs. As Nat played with Wanda’s hair she thought about Pietro. After their parents had died, Pietro had been Wanda’s only constant, always with her, by her side, looking after her. She remembered Clint telling her about how protective he was of his sister the first few times they crossed paths. Perhaps that had been why Wanda had been so willing to spend all of her free time with Vision when she first arrived. And now, ever since they had begun officially dating, she had been glued to Natasha’s side. She watched her spar, went on runs with her, even slept in the same bed which, Nat supposed, should feel weird considering they weren’t actually “sleeping” together yet but she had been so happy to have the witch by her side that she had never questioned the co-dependency factor.

Looking at the young brunette, seeing how happy she was, laughing at something Sam said to Steve, Natasha decided that it didn’t matter. Trying to compare their lives, their relationship to what was normal or even healthy was a losing battle. Nothing about their jobs, their past, fit into a textbook so why should Nat care so much about how they chose to balm their wounds?

They had chosen to do a “Dirty Santa” gift exchange, as Nat called it. But everyone seemed to have their own name and their own rules for how the game should go. This led to a lot of shouting and arguments, the peak of which was Maria shooting a gun in the air at one point to get everyone to shut up. Steve had then silently handed her the tequila bottle she had been trying to steal from him (the debate had been over how many times that particular gift had been “stolen”) while Pepper gave Maria her best death glare, presumably over the bullet hole in the ceiling.

It was late when Wanda and Natasha finally made it back to the redhead’s apartment, which Wanda had made herself at home in, not that Nat minded. Somehow they had ended up with two snuggies and Shake Weight. Wanda had taken the snuggies, also something Nat didn’t mind, and Natasha had thrown the Shake Weight into the hall closet, to be given as a gag gift to someone at a later date.

She joined Wanda (already decked out in one of her new snuggies) on the couch.

“Sorry about Maria, she can get a little testy when it comes to games.”

“I thought it was funny. Rhodey’s face was priceless. And I loved the game and sitting with everyone around the tree. I’ve never celebrated Christmas before.”

Natasha tilted her head, “Not even when you were little?”

“No, we celebrated Hanukkah.”

Guilt washed over Natasha immediately. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry, I never even thought to ask...it’s passed already hasn’t it? We can get a menorah though, if you want?”

Wanda laughed, “It’s ok…really,” she added when Natasha’s face indicated her disbelief, “after...after our parents died, Pietro and I were so focused on surviving and then Hydra, I haven’t been anything close to orthodox for many, many years.”

“Well, if you want, we can change that. I can try and find a synagogue in area if you would like?”

“I’ll think about it.” Wanda responded, clearly reluctant to continue the conversation. Natasha quickly grasped for another subject.

“I think you made very good decisions about the charities. I’m not sure anybody besides Vision put as much thought into it as you did and he’s basically a computer so it doesn’t really count.”

“Do you not like him?”

The question caught Natasha off guard. “I respect him as a teammate.”

“That was not the question.”

“Vision is fine I just, I guess at first I didn’t care about him or really anybody else that much. I was sort of dealing with a little bit of heartbreak at the time.”

Wanda gave her a quizzical look.

“You know Bruce? The Hulk?”

The little witch nodded, looking somewhat embarrassed and Nat remembered that it had been Wanda who had caused Bruce to lose control and destroy half of Seoul.

“Well, before you got here, I had this crazy thought that maybe he and I shared a bit of a bond. He was somewhat aware of my…condition and he had something similar going on, plus this creature inside of me has never been triggered by attraction to men so it just seemed like he and I had a decent shot together.

Right before the attack on Sokovia, he had given me hope that we would finally give it a try, then, he left. He chose to leave instead of trying to make it work. You know, it hurt, I felt rejected and also just…unlovable I guess. If someone like him couldn’t love me enough to try, how could I expect anyone else to?”

Wanda nodded with a faraway look in her eyes and Nat suspected they might have to revisit this subject at another time.

“Anyways, for a while there I just didn’t really care about getting close to anyone. But you had to go and be all adorable and sexy,” she offered Wanda a little smirk, which made the witch blush again, “and you were spending all of your time with Vision. Not that I was really making that much of an effort, to be fair, that was on me. But still I guess I just got a little jealous.”

“And now?”

“Now, I’m fine with him.”

“Good.” She seemed content, so Nat let the subject die and instead focused on how cute Wanda looked all snuggled up.

“Enjoying your prize?” There was that big smile Nat loved to see. Wanda nodded and Natasha got an idea. She grabbed the bottom flap of the snuggie and slid under and up all while Wanda giggled.

“Nat, there’s...stop...there’s another one right over there.”

Natasha popped up right in front of the younger woman’s face, snuggly between her and the blanket, straddling Wanda’s lap. “This one is fine, just wanted to see what all the rage was about.” She bit her bottom lip and pretended to look around, “yep, I get the hype, it’s pretty nice in here.”

“Mmmhm, you just want an excuse to be close to me.”

“No, I just wanted an excuse to do this.” She placed both her hands on either side of Wanda’s face and pressed her lips to the other woman’s. Nat would never get tired of this feeling. Wanda’s lips were soft and she was never passive in her kisses. Almost immediately she opened her mouth and ran her tongue along Natasha’s bottom lip, which drew a deep moan from the ex-assassin.

The blanket had them pressed tightly together so Nat could feel Wanda’s chest rise and fall against her own. She let one hand trail down to cup a clothed breast in her hand and squeezed, hard. The action earned her a sharp gasp from Wanda. Natasha had to admit that one major advantage of waiting was that she got to learn a lot about Wanda’s buttons. She knew just how hard she could squeeze before pleasure turned to pain. She knew that Wanda liked little nips to her neck, loved it when Nat blew in her ear. Wanda was an open book that Natasha studied every chance she got.

Meanwhile, Wanda’s slender, skilled fingers were making their way up and under all the layers and finally, into Natasha’s sweater. She used her nails to lightly scratch Natasha’s back and it made the older woman positively purr. Wanda smiled big against Nat’s lips and they opened their eyes at the same time.

“Should we move to the bedroom?” Wanda asked, her voice indicating that the decision was still completely Natasha’s.

The redhead considered it, hard. She felt ok so far, but her desire was so powerful right now, if she got Wanda into bed, she would want so much more. Her need to touch the other woman’s bare skin was overwhelming. Tomorrow was Christmas and she wanted to spend it with Wanda, not in a drug-induced coma.

“I’ve got other plans.” She smiled and pressed her nose softly against her girlfriend’s for a little boop, “We are going to watch _A Christmas Story_.”

Wanda tilted her head, an adorable look of confusion on her face. “Which one?”

Nat pulled back as much as the snuggie would allow. “ _A Christmas Story_.” She repeated.

“Which one?” Wanda also repeated, more pointedly.

Natasha threw the snuggie off of them with one quick swing of her arms.

“You have got to be shitting me Maximoff!”

Wanda looked from side to side then back to Nat and shrugged her shoulders.

Natasha flew into action, suddenly laser focused on finding the movie in her DVD cabinet. Once she had loaded it up, she jumped back onto the couch and pulled Wanda into position, snuggled up against her.

“You are so lucky you met me little witch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has commented and then waited patiently for me to post. My work obligations/stress will be increasing steadily from now until the end of April so I apologize in advance if I'm not great about posting between now and then. Rest assured though, this work will not be abandoned, the last chapters are already written, I'm just struggling with some fillers here and there.


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